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California is about to allow former felons to serve on juries

calmatters.org

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Re: California is about to allow former felons to serve on juries

#151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, whether they've ever served time or not is irrelevant in this case. It's a false equivalence, because they're not suitable for the role in the first place. A better question is, would I let a pedophile who served their time work at McDonald's? And the answer is, of course. They need a job just like everyone else.

I bet MacDonald's would disagree. Pretty sure they consider themselves targeted toward teenagers and kids. Last I went there, it was filled with teenagers, typical middle school and high school from the area. Further away from the city center, the bigger macdonalds have playing area and attractions for children, to cater to young families with kids.

McDonalds probably wouldn't hire a pedophile due to its customer base, but it would (and does) hire other types of former felons, since the majority of McDonalds are owned and operated by franchisees who are generally permitted to control hiring as long as they don't violate labor laws.

Re: California is about to allow former felons to serve on juries

#152

There’s no such thing as a former felon. A felon is a person whose been convicted of a felony. Once convicted you’re a convict. Reformed felons... sure. But not former.

If you really want to be pedantic, felons can petition to have their criminal records expunged, including most felonies, and therefore would be former felons.

Re: California is about to allow former felons to serve on juries

#153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What specifically makes "professional jurors" better, though? I won't say the idea isn't appealing, but what about making them professionals makes them better than our peers? There are already a bunch of heavily regulated professionals involved in the process so it's kind of arbitrary to claim that we need to regulate more of it. Why not limit witness testimony to professionals too?

In the jury I sat on, we had a question about the the law and it's wording. The response we got was, "you have already received your instructions." Gee, thanks. Someone more well versed might have better understood the definition.

That is actual part of why we use non-professional juries.

If instructions are vague or confusing, they want the jury to decide what the instructions mean, not the lawyers or judge.

Re: California is about to allow former felons to serve on juries

#154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a limit on peremptory challenges, for which no reason needs to be given. But I don't think there is a limit on for-cause dismissals.

If dismissing people for felonies was a valid cause by itself, then this law would be completely meaningless, that wouldn't escape a judge overseeing the proceedings.

There are two types of jury trials in CA.

Criminal trials where felons would generally not be permitted to serve on juries for the same reason that police officers aren't, and civil trials, which conviction status doesn't matter.

Re: California is about to allow former felons to serve on juries

#155
post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would you say the same thing if a former convict of child abuse wanted to work closely with your kinds in school, sports or other arenas? I for sure would not be happy with it. Certain things are not a right to have, e.g. driving license or be working in a specific profession. Firearms in the US is special but the use of firearm in the US is a topic for itself.

> Would you say the same thing if a former convict of child abuse wanted to work closely with your kinds in school, sports or other arenas? I for sure would not be happy with it. 'what about the children?' it's a tired argument that always has the same answer : some people would care, some wouldn't care, but the phrasing of your prompt provides a moral imperative to agree, no matter the question. you'll never get hon…

I think it is a matter of risk.

Would I risk a hiring a shoplifter in my store? Yes. Would I let a person who commited fraud to work with money ? Yes. What they do isn't something that could not be "repaired".

Buy you raise very valid views, thanks for that

Re: California is about to allow former felons to serve on juries

#156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also a good chance OP is lying on the Internet.

I believe them. some people will say anything to get out of jury duty. they don't seem to understand that perjury is a serious offense. the last time I was called, I heard one woman loudly announce "I'm gonna stand up for everything!" during voir dire.

Also, there really are a lot of people that are just that unapologetically racist. I see a few people commenting that they don't think that actually happened. Ask just about any brown person if they believe that would actually happen today. I bet most would say that a comment like that isn't surprising at all.

Re: California is about to allow former felons to serve on juries

#157
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's kind of random. Last time I was on jury selection, the defendant, a black man, was accused of robbing a bank at gunpoint. The woman being questioned for jury duty was asked about being a victim of crime. She said, "I've been a bank teller for over 20 years. I've been robbed at gunpoint three times, and every time it was a black man. Black men are always guilty". I was shocked she would say such a thing,…

Was he guilty?

I don't know. I was dismissed the next day. Never got to see how the trial turned out.

Re: California is about to allow former felons to serve on juries

#159

There’s no such thing as a former felon. A felon is a person whose been convicted of a felony. Once convicted you’re a convict. Reformed felons... sure. But not former.

If you really want to be pedantic, felons can petition to have their criminal records expunged, including most felonies, and therefore would be former felons.

This former felon talk encourages crime. It suggests that it’s okay to commit serious crimes, because you will be welcomed back to society and have a second chance. Why not give it a try? It’s dangerous and bad for society.

It’s one thing to do it. To hire folks who’ve served their time, etc. Its another to talk as if there isn’t and shouldn’t be a stigma to crime.

Re: California is about to allow former felons to serve on juries

#160

I recently listened to a podcast in which James Beshar interviews an anonymous San Francisco police officer who has been in the service for a long time. The police officer said that there are a lot of loopholes(not talking about paroles, probation or anything related) in California justice system in particular that allows felons to come out much faster than the actual time sentenced. For example felons that are sente…

The "anonymous officer" is misstating the way the rules actually work to the point of basically lying about them. (Actual rules: http://www.courts.ca.gov/partners/documents/CalculatingCusto... ) Custody credits. For crimes committed after October 2011, defendants who do not misbehave while in jail will receive 1 day of "conduct credits" for every 1 days of actual jail time served. Felons will similarly receive 1 day…

Can you listen to the podcast from 12th minute for a few minutes so that we all are in same page? Its highly possible I oversimplified and missed some key elements since I listened to this episode a while back.
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