OK- What pens for Jury Duty?

[Andy]

...I am potentially about to be a juror on a case that will last well over a month.

 

Oh, (bleep). ((bleep), (bleep), crappity-(bleep))

 

I'm happy to do my bit for Democracy and the Justice System, but I was really, really hoping for the "One Day, One Trial" part to be a lot heavier on the "One Day" part than the "One Trial" part. The timing could not possibly be worse for my job (lead MechE on a completely new product that needs to show real potential and quickly), but the only folks who were excused from the pool were the ones who mentioned "student" or "work won't pay me for Jury Service".

 

C'est la vie- I work for a civic-minded company.

 

So, to keep me a bit more sane than usual, what shall I bring with me in terms of stylographic firepower? I need functional baubles, I guess- pretty things that will work when called upon to keep me happy through what promises to be an extremely screwed-up, very, very depressing trial.

 

If I'm lucky, I'll not make it past the 2nd round of screening- I don't mind Jury Duty (not at all, really), but I want nothing to do with this one (really).....

 

Andy

[stan]

Depends.

 

If it is a long high-profile trial you have several options.

 

Take your biggest flashiest gold/silver/platinum diamond-studded jumbo Italian pen, your Vacuumatic, or your short Pilot. Your goal is to be the juror the audience focuses in on. Should deliberations be extended or there be a hung jury, you want to be the one they think was the problem. There's some serious money to be made from Star of The Enquirer.

 

In all other cases, and unless you wish to impress your fellow jururs, just bring a felt pen. Otherwise you'll get tagged as jury foreman.

[wdyasq]

The last trial I had the honor of serving on .... lasted a week. We were specifically told not to take notes. I had a pocket 'doodle pad' I drew things in. Of course I related the things I drew to what I cared to. I never opened the doodle pad in active deliberation but would open it and 'doodle' during the coffee and restroom breaks.

 

Odd, as I am not normally a 'doodler'.

 

There is the letter of the law and reality. The pen should be dead solid reliable and hold plenty of ink.....

 

Ron

[greencobra]

In all other cases, and unless you wish to impress your fellow jururs, just bring a felt pen. Otherwise you'll get tagged as jury foreman.

 

- Judge: Mr. Foreman, has the jury reached a verdict?

 

- Mr. Foreman: They have, your honor. They liked my platinum, diamond-studded, jumbo Italian pen!

 

[Paddler]

Wear a flashy three-piece suit and a loud shirt with an ugly necktie. Put three or four shiny pens in the jacket's breast pocket. Wear a Balmoral with that. You want to stand out like a spiral-cut ham at a barmitzvah. You will be rejected on the first challenge.

 

Paddler

 

[wdyasq]

Wear a flashy three-piece suit and a loud shirt with an ugly necktie. Put three or four shiny pens in the jacket's breast pocket. Wear a Balmoral with that. You want to stand out like a spiral-cut ham at a barmitzvah. You will be rejected on the first challenge.

 

Paddler

A "Grand Wizard" outfit would work too ... spandex and chains... no, never mind ... it's California, that might be considered normal.

 

Ron

[FrankB]

You guys! Your sense of humor is a hoot! :ltcapd:

 

If notes are indeed permitted, I would want a pen that is easy to carry, 100% reliable and has a fairly large ink capacity. I would carry probably three pens:

 

- Parker 51

- Pelikan M-600

- MontyB 146

[OldGriz]

And don't forget to wear your Che Guevara T shirt and beret

[Cloud]

Just say you are tough on criminal and think they are all guilty... they will see that you are partial and want to reject you.

[LouisA]

If I were trying for foreman I would bring a Montblanc 149 or a Pelikan M1000. If I were trying to be the guy everyone looked to I would bring a Waterman Le Man 100 or a Parker Dufold. Now if I were trying to get out of jury duty I would bring a pen I didn't mind losing like a Schaffer school pen or a Pilot Varisity and when the arresting officer comes in stand up and shout "Hey {insert officer's name here} here's your pen back, you left it in my car"

 

As the old saying goes, how would like to be tried by someone who can't even get out of jury duty.

[garyc]

How about a Levenger True Writer (the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth ...)

[dcom]

If you end up getting picked to serve, they will provide you with paper, probably a pad of some kind. But, as I found out, it's probably the least expensive, thinnest paper they can find. I served back in March of this year and thought "Oo, a good chance to use a nice pen to take notes". I brought in one of my good Duponts, heavy, with an M nib.

 

The first mark I made on the pad they gave us almost soaked through 2 sheets and feathered like a peacock plume! I ended up writing with it upside down just to get lines thin enough to read.

 

My suggestion is whatever pen you take, make sure it's got a F or XF nib.

[thomasg]

if you want to be struck from the jury by the defense counsel, try a montblanc.

 

the prosecutor would get rid of you for something more vintage or artsy...maybe a nice old vac.

 

 

if you really don't want to serve, ask if you can "help to inflict the eventual punishment the defendant will face. "

 

i am a trial attorney and have heard much worse than the above when qualifying (or disqualifying,) jurors for service.

 

my suggestion, write only very key items, and listen to the rest.

[amh210]

Caution:

 

I read about this custom in some Fountain Pen context.

 

In India, if a trial results in a death sentence, the presiding judge who signs the sentence order uses a fountain pen that is then destroyed. The idea is that life is so precious that a pen that signs a death sentence should not be used again for anything less momentous.

 

I don't know if this is fact or legend, but it is interesting. I don't suggest that there is a parallel in your situation, but it should provide you with the opportunity to cogitate about whether you would do something similar in a similar situation.

 

Of all the many times I've reported for Jury Duty (about 20 times, I imagine) I only served on a trial panel once. I found it a fascinating experience and even though I resented the time at that time, in retrospect it was worthwhile and uplifting.

 

Andy

[CD7]

The idea is that life is so precious that a pen that signs a death sentence should not be used again for anything less momentous.

 

The taint of death is now attatched to the pen.

 

[tnt]

I would try all your pens out to see which pen you feel most comfortable with while writing Guilty. Then, once you pick the perfect pen, share your pre-trial preperation with writing samples with the court to show how dedicated you are to the justice system.

[Lloyd]

How about a snorkel so you can squirt those you disagree with.

 

WHat color ink will you use? A blood red or a sunny yellow or Blue Ghost (to keep your notes secret)?

Edited November 14, 2007 by Lloyd

[Andy]

Update- not selected for the jury, not too sad about it.

 

It would appear that my answers on the 26 page jury questionnaire didn't make me seem all that sexy to either the defense or the prosecution or both; I wasn't even called as a potential alternate.

 

I was actually looking forward to serving on a jury, but that was before learning the nature of the case and that it was expected to run for over a month.

 

If anyone needs a little dose of depression, the case was a shaken baby death; the accused is charged with the death of the 7 month old son of his own twin brother.

 

No, thank you. Really glad I didn't get tapped for this.

 

Andy

 

(Not that it's all that important, but ended up bringing a Pilot Decimo (bad choice- clicking would have been too noisy) and my Granite Bexley Gold Line to work on a book of Kakuro puzzles and just generally fidget with while I finished "Treason's Harbor" by Patrick O'Brian.)

[Shelley]

You would have been handed poor quality paper and a pencil...at least thats what gets handed out in my court...

[Tojusi]

If anyone needs a little dose of depression, the case was a shaken baby death; the accused is charged with the death of the 7 month old son of his own twin brother.

 

Drifting slightly off-topic as this is not pen-related anymore, but how can a case like that be expected to last for one month? I would assume that the "who did what" testimony would take half a day, plus medical experts (if any) the rest of the day. Deliberate and close. But then again, I am not an American lawyer.

 

/Tojusi