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Originally posted by Replaced_Texan [list=1][*]I have to go to jury durty tomorrow. Any tips for getting the hell out at voir dire? Apparently a simple "I'm a lawyer" isn't as effective as it used to be.
[*]I had lunch with a guy who, when he found out I'm a lawyer, started asking me about how to get out of some sort of boating citation (something involving failure to have an observer while a kid was on a jet ski type thing in another state). His big issue was that it's a Class C Misdemeanor and he doesn't want that "on his record." The fine is $150. I ducked and hemmed and hawed and said I wasn't really a criminal defense attorney licensed in Arizona, but maybe he should call the court and/or DA and see what they ahve to say. He wanted to know if he should request a jury trial. Does anyone actually care about Class C Misdemeanors? This guy is a physician, and I'm pretty sure that neither hospitals nor medical boards care. [/list=1]
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1. The most effective thing I ever saw: A potential juror on an assault case, who looked like a really good, even-handed, fair person, pipes up after voir dire is almost done and says "I just want to say.... if I saw the defendant walking towards me, I'd be really scared."
It had the advantage of sounding really, really honest and truthful.
2. He should find out if state law allows him to have the conviction expunged. Some states (maybe most or all, I don't know) provide for this -- if you have a misdemeanor and are sentenced only to probation, once you complete it you have a statutory right to get the conviction expunged. Which means it's gone, like it never happened, and you never have to answer a question with "yes, I was convicted of a crime" unless the question is phrased very specifically to include expunged convictions.*
*no one should rely on this, it's not legal advice, and my criminal defense background is way old so ymmv. Etc. and so forth.
