A Jury of Our Peers: Exercising Civic Duty

December 9, 2024December 8, 2024 ~ wordancerblog ~ 8 Comments

I’m being called to potentially sit on a jury. I’m not quite sure what it all will entail or how many days I will be out of work, sitting as a juror. I hope to learn about the court system, which I will take back to my students.

8 responses to “A Jury of Our Peers: Exercising Civic Duty”

margaretsmn

December 10, 2024

Good luck with your jury duty. I’ve only been called once and I never made it to the selection. My daughter is the head public defender in our area, so I know about the proof of guilt. She does it for those who get stuck in the system. She has some sad stories to tell. I am so proud of her work. She’s a believer!

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beckymusician

December 10, 2024

I was on a jury years ago. It was a petit jury, as opposed to grand jury. I can’t remember all the details anymore, but we were called for a month. I got on a jury. It was a reverse discrimination case. The whole experience was very interesting.

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Glenda Funk

December 10, 2024

Hi, Joanne!

I commented yesterday but was working and on a teacher computer, so I think my comment went yo spam or some unnamed place in the great beyond.

Anyway, like you, I’ve only been called for jury duty once. It was for a now infamous murder trial. I was part of a large pool and was dismissed. I agree w/ the civic responsibility points you make and also think young children need to be taught civics early in life. Love all the resources you’ve provided and find myself thinking about literary trials we held during my teaching days.

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Anna Maria

December 10, 2024

As a Fourth grade teacher we have to cover the Bill of Rights & The Constitution. All of these resources you shared are being saved in a folder for future reference.

I was only called for jury duty once but I didn’t make it past the first round. Your Slice mentioned mock trials and it made me think of high school. I took a course that was called Street Law & we learned about the justice system a little more in depth. We even did mock trials and we loved those days.

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dmsherriff

December 10, 2024

So impressed with the approach you have here! Understanding your own civic duty (learning) and thinking about how you can bring it back to kids (teaching). The list of books is an important one because, as we know, books are powerful teaching tools! Thanks for sharing and good luck!

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kimhaynesjohnson

December 10, 2024

Have a great learning experience on the jury. I have been called twice, both times during exams in college many years ago, and since I was out of state with no car, I got excused. I always love your book lists and learning from your blog post – your insight into embracing life and learning at every turn is inspirational. I must confess that while I know it’s my civic duty, I would be a little less welcoming in December than you are, so I appreciate the way you offer a reshaping of ideas here.

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Trish

December 11, 2024

The timing couldn’t be better for this, Joanne. I, too, served on a jury for my first time ever, two years ago. (I wouldn’t make the age cut-off now!) You teach in New Jersey as did I for most of my career. I used to receive the Legal Eagle newsletter for kids. I think it’s provided by the NJ Law Center. I went to a couple of PD sessions with them, too. The middle schoolers and I learned a lot about how the legal system works. You might want to check it out if you haven’t already. (We did a mock trial in the fourth grade—I think—using Goldilocks…)

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Barb Edler

December 11, 2024

One of my favorite things to do when I was teaching was to have students participate in a mock trial. One piece of literature that is for older students, is “Lamb to the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl. I used to have kids from study hall sit on the jury. Students learned a great deal through this wonderful practice. I recently had a summons but never had to attend a single meeting as everything was settled out of court. I will be fascinated to read what happens if you are selected to be a juror. Thanks for sharing such a wonderful list of books!

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