r/nottheonion • u/ArgentineBeauty • 19h ago

Reese Witherspoon Chosen as Jury Foreman After Jurors Thought She Went to Law School Because of Legally Blonde

https://www.fashiontimes.co.uk/reese-witherspoon-jury-duty-mix-1763528
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u/Human_Ad7946 18h ago

I was summoned for jury duty. We were given numbers, 1 through 20, and asked to line up sequentially. You would be shocked (or maybe not) at the number of adults who were unable to do this. Many also couldn't turn their phones off. The bailiff had to confiscate a bunch. One dude just stood in the middle of the court when we all filed in and were told to take a seat. He looked paralyzed by confusion. Luckily I was dismissed.

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u/BackgroundSummer5171 17h ago

Luckily I was dismissed.

You heard these stories.

You seem to have brain cells.

Wouldn't it be better that you are chosen? You know, to decide the fate of people and their lives.

Instead of leaving it up to those less mentally capable.

I know it puts a burden on you for a week or two or whatever. But still, I'd prefer to be chosen.

I was dismissed also last time I was called.

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u/Human_Ad7946 16h ago

Well, I wasn't chosen because of my profession. One, or both, attorneys didn't want a healthcare professional hearing the workmens comp case. I would have gladly served, though painfully I'm sure.

A coworker served on a federal jury for weeks. She said all of her fellow jurors were bright people. I think they are more discriminate in higher stakes cases.

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u/AndChewBubblegum 18h ago

I was also selected for jury duty. I won't pretend like we had a room full of Rhodes scholars. But given the instructions and limitations imposed on us by the court, I was surprised how well a few days off deliberation was able to converge on a conclusion that felt like it was appropriate.

Maybe my experience was unusual. But I also think the other extreme doesn't reflect the average experience.

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u/Money4Nothing2000 12h ago

I was summoned in July during the World Cup, and we had like 47 jurors for voir dire, and I was shocked when everyone was able to line up correctly, because the bailiff had like 4 different lines with some lines counting forward some counting backwards, starting at different numbers. I totally expected what you described to happen, but I guess we had a smart bunch that day because everyone got it right, and they even lined up correctly the second time around to go back in.

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u/thisisjustascreename 17h ago

The only time I’ve been summoned to jury duty they sent the summons to an address I hadn’t lived at or been registered to vote at for over a decade, while the current occupants of that address were on vacation. Needed to say, I didn’t make it to the courthouse.