No Joke: Aversion To Jury Duty A Serious Threat To Justice

Law360, Los Angeles (October 3, 2016, 8:09 PM EDT) -- Jokes about concocting clever excuses to avoid jury duty are a dime a dozen in recent history, a symptom of a widespread indifference or even aversion to serving that some experts say endangers the institution of the civil jury trial.

Homer Simpson famously suggested that "the trick is to say you're prejudiced against all races." And late-night host Stephen Colbert once joked that President Barack Obama should be able to get out of jury duty like the rest of us: "Show up, wet yourself, get in a fistfight with a stenographer and tell the judge that you are afraid of Koreans."...

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