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Sequestered in jury duty over shabbos
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amother
OP


 

Post Mon, Jun 03 2019, 2:01 pm
My husband is on jury duty and they are starting deliberations soon. BH after shavuos.

How does a frum jew handle being sequestered on shabbos?
Do you get permission to go home? Do you stay in your hotel room all day?

It looks like deliberations will be lengthy.
What Halachic considerations do we need to keep in mind?
We are planning to call a rav but I’d like to get an idea.
Have you or anyone you know ever been in this situation?
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pesek zman




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Jun 03 2019, 2:09 pm
Yell the judge he can’t be. The end
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southernbubby




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Jun 03 2019, 2:29 pm
Frum Jews don't access the internet on Shabbos so explain to the judge that the case won't be affected if your husband is home on Shabbos.
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amother
Yellow


 

Post Mon, Jun 03 2019, 2:33 pm
amother [ OP ] wrote:
My husband is on jury duty and they are starting deliberations soon. BH after shavuos.

How does a frum jew handle being sequestered on shabbos?
Do you get permission to go home? Do you stay in your hotel room all day?

It looks like deliberations will be lengthy.
What Halachic considerations do we need to keep in mind?
We are planning to call a rav but I’d like to get an idea.
Have you or anyone you know ever been in this situation?


Has the court indicated that the jury will be sequestered? Its pretty uncommon.

If they're sequestered, they'll have to made religious accommodations for him. That may not include davening with a minyan, though. I don't know.
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Amarante




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Jun 03 2019, 2:36 pm
It is exceedingly unlikely that deliberations will continue for four or five days and sequestration is also extremely rare unless it is a very high profile case - which I am assuming this one is not.

Almost all the time, jurors are sent home with an admonition from the judge reminding them not to discuss the case with ANYONE and in the very unlikely event that the case is in the newspaper, not to read it. I assume we are not talking some kind of front page case.

The religious accommodation would be made in terms of having your husband leave Friday afternoon early enough to get home. This would not be an issue at all.

ETA - Most cases aren't sequestered because it is unnecessary - it is VERY expensive - and it places an undue burden on jurors.


Last edited by Amarante on Mon, Jun 03 2019, 3:26 pm; edited 1 time in total
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causemommysaid




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Jun 03 2019, 2:43 pm
The courts have to accommodate religious beliefs. Tell them now about shabbos and shevuos. They may put in an alternate. He probably wont be sequestered.
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amother
OP


 

Post Mon, Jun 03 2019, 3:52 pm
He is going to be sequestered after shavuos. It’s not a question. It’s a big case. He’s been on the jury for 4 weeks already. I’m just hoping he can come home for shabbos.
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Ruchel




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Jun 03 2019, 4:06 pm
How is this mandatory?? I've never encountered who had to do jury duty
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sequoia




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Jun 03 2019, 5:05 pm
Ruchel wrote:
How is this mandatory?? I've never encountered who had to do jury duty


It is mandatory. Some people try to get out of jury duty by pretending to be prejudiced.

In general people understand that it’s an important part of a functioning democracy.
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Amarante




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Jun 03 2019, 5:07 pm
Ruchel wrote:
How is this mandatory?? I've never encountered who had to do jury duty


France doesn't operate under the Common Law system but rather a form of the Napoleonic Code. It is my understanding that there are no jury trials for civil litigation and jury trials only for the most serious of felonies in the criminal system.
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thanks




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Jun 03 2019, 5:13 pm
I was sequestered once while serving on a jury. It was not a high profile case. They got food from kosher restaurants for me. It was not shabbos, so I have no idea about that.
I don't think you can predict so far in advance. The jury may came to an agreement w/o being sequestered.
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happymom123




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Jun 03 2019, 5:25 pm
sequoia wrote:
It is mandatory. Some people try to get out of jury duty by pretending to be prejudiced.

In general people understand that it’s an important part of a functioning democracy.


In Brooklyn even if you report to jury duty, you likely won't do anything useful. They call you there to sit and wait all day then go home when it's over. I know many people who reported for jury duty that just had their time wasted.
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Ruchel




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jun 05 2019, 6:53 am
I definitely don't have time for that. Let professionals.
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shabbatiscoming




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jun 05 2019, 7:04 am
Ruchel wrote:
I definitely don't have time for that. Let professionals.
Ruchel, most people who are on a jury dont have the time. They have life to live. But that is how the jury system works in america. People are picked, from the general population. Its specifically NOT professionals, just your every day regular man and woman.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jury_selection
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amother
Brown


 

Post Wed, Jun 05 2019, 7:05 am
He needs to explain exactly what he needs and can and can not do. In my case, I would have been sequestered over yom tov. When I explained this, I was dismissed from jury duty.
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amother
Slateblue


 

Post Wed, Jun 05 2019, 7:48 am
Ruchel wrote:
I definitely don't have time for that. Let professionals.


Jury duty is like the point of america
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DrMom




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jun 05 2019, 7:52 am
happymom123 wrote:
In Brooklyn even if you report to jury duty, you likely won't do anything useful. They call you there to sit and wait all day then go home when it's over. I know many people who reported for jury duty that just had their time wasted.

OP's husband wasn't just reporting for jury duty, as I understood it. He was actually selected to serve on the jury.
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happymom123




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jun 05 2019, 7:57 am
DrMom wrote:
OP's husband wasn't just reporting for jury duty, as I understood it. He was actually selected to serve on the jury.


Right, I was responding to Ruchel who didn't know anyone who ever had jury duty.
I'm not familiar with the justice system in France but it seems to be very different
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DrMom




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jun 05 2019, 8:02 am
happymom123 wrote:
Right, I was responding to Ruchel who didn't know anyone who ever had jury duty.
I'm not familiar with the justice system in France but it seems to be very different

Ah, gotcha. Thumbs Up
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Amarante




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jun 05 2019, 9:08 am
The right to a a trial by a jury of one's peers is one of the great liberties that dates back to the Magna Carta which was signed by King John in 1215.

Historically the Magna Carta is considered to be a milestone in the road to liberty/democratic rule since it was a document that provided a check on the British King's absolute power. While at first it was an agreement among the King and the nobles it evolved in the British constitutional monarchy. The American Revolution would have been unthinkable if the British people didn't have a history of Parliamentary rule.

At any rate, a jury of peers has evolved along with the expansion of democratic ideals since juries without women, without people of color are not constitutionally considered to be a jury of peers - whether one is white, Jewish, Latino or whatever, one is supposed to have the right to be tried by a group representing the community and not a narrow cross section.

It's somewhat like the admonition for a jury to consider the evidence and ONLY the evidence presented. There are some really classic movies and books - e.g. 12 Angry Men (should be people Very Happy ) in which a jury wanted to summarily convict without considering the evidence and one person (Henry Fonda) turned it around.

At any rate, as posted, France is not bound by Common Law and so there is a very limited right to jury trial. Having cases decided by a "professional" is the antithesis of what most Americans and Brits feel to be the bedrock of democratic ideals.
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