Could I get out of jury duty by wearing a clown suit to the jury selection?
I was on a jury panel that had a woman dressed all in white. When she was called, she said that she had told the jury commissioner that she believed only God could judge a person and had been asked to be excused, but had been required to come to jury duty. The judge dismissed her.My own “how I got off jury duty story”:I was on a panel for a murder trial. The trial hadn’t started yet, and we went home for the weekend, which happened to be Christhmas weekend. We would be coming back for more jury selection the following week.On Christmas night, after dinner with friends, my wife and I stopped at convenience store to get a couple of items. A guy was yelling in the parking lot, and my wife wanted to leave, but we went in anyway.While we were in the store a guy got shot in the parking lot. We heard a shot, looked outside and a second shot went off and a guy fell.The store clerk dialed 911 and the cops and ambulance soon arrived. They took the guy who was shot to the hospital and the cops took statements from witnesses, including us.The guy died. He was 1 of 4 Marines who had been going on a trip to Reno and had gotten into an argument with some locals at the convenience store. He hadn’t really been involved in the argument, just was standing there when the locals came back with a gun and fired a couple of shots, one of which hit him in the head.The next day back at the courthouse, we were standing in the hall outside the courtroom. I glanced in and saw the bailiff reading the morning paper. I asked if I could approach him (he was the only person in the courtroom) and he said yes. I showed him the short article about the murder in the paper, said I witnessed it , and asked him if he thought I should tell the judge. He said yes, and asked me to wait outside.When i was called in, the judge, defense and prosecuting attorneys, defendant, and court reporter had joined the bailiff. I told them what I had witnessed and said that I felt it would affect my ability to be a fair and impartial juror on the case. The judge asked me why and I explained that I would be mentally comparing what I had seen with what a witness was saying.The judge asked if there were any objections from the attorneys to him dismissing me. There were none, and I was released.A year later, I testified at the trial of the guy accused of shooting the Marine.
What are the chances that Trump will get impeached in 2019?
Will Trump get impeached in 2019? The answer is absolutely, YES.Will he be convicted in the Senate and removed from office? Absolutely NO!As a Democrat, I believe that Donald Trump is the worst thing that ever happened to the American Presidency and the stature of America in the world. He is worse than Nixon, Harding or Hoover. I want nothing more than to have Trump gone so we can begin to rebuild what he destroyed.HOWEVER:He will not leave office through the impeachment process. The math does not work.The House will impeach. Passing articles of impeachment only requires a simple majority in the House, and that only takes 218 votes, and Democrats will hold a 35 or 37 seat advantage in the 116th Congress, depending on what happens in the North Carolina 9th. So, even if 34 Democrats vote against impeachment, the articles will pass and Trump will face a trial in the Senate.In the 116th Congress, Senate Republicans will enjoy a 53–47 advantage. Conviction requires 67 votes, so, assuming that all Democrats vote for conviction, 20 Republicans must also vote for conviction, as well. In 2020, Republicans have to defend 21 seats, so my guess is that it will be hard to find 20 Republicans willing to challenge the Trump base, so Trump will not be convicted, and, like Bill Clinton in 1998 will continue in office and, perhaps with more loyalty from his base.If the goal to no longer have Trump as president, there are only three ways to prevent him from taking the oath of office on January 20, 2021: Trump does not stand for reelection; Trump is defeated by a Democrat; or Trump is removed from office via the 25th Amendment.
Does Paul Manafort deserve to spend the rest of his life in prison?
Reading the answers from many here, I am struck with the inability of any political criminal to get justice from a biased jury.I am a believer in the jury system. In due process. In the hope that the wheels of justice are slow but fine. And the passions of men do not achieve the justice of a fair and good country.I let the jury decide. Or the judge, if he is impartial. I do not substitute my own opinion, or OJ would have been in jail. Evidently, the jury in that matter saw something I did not. I learned from that, I am not competent to judge when I have no facts, no arguments, and just the reportage from media as a guide.