Taylor Swift’s reason for missing MTV’s Video Music Awards Sunday wasn’t because she was snubbed or because she was avoiding Kim and Kanye. Actually, Swift had a pretty civic excuse–she was called in for jury duty.

The pop superstar appeared in a Nashville, Tennessee court room Monday after being selected as a potential juror in an aggravated rape and kidnapping case. However, she was quickly dismissed by the judge due to a different pending sexual assault lawsuit.

Davidson County District Attorney General’s Office spokesman Ken Whitehouse explained, “She asked to be left off out of concern for an upcoming trial in Denver where she was–she used the term ‘groped’–by a fan at a meet-and-greet.”

The “fan” refers to Colorado DJ David Mueller, who filed a lawsuit first against Swift, alleging that he was wrongfully terminated from his job at 98.5 KYGO over false allegations that he grabbed Swift’s butt while taking a photo.

Swift’s lawyers countersued, claiming, “Mueller did not merely brush his hand against Ms. Swift while posing for the photograph. He lifted her skirt and groped her.”

Because of this pending legal matter, Swift successfully argued that she couldn’t be impartial in the rape case. According to Whitehouse, Swift told the judge she would be more than willing to serve on a jury in any other type of case.

Before leaving the courtroom, Swift was nice enough to pose for pictures with fans, even filming a video message for one fan’s loved ones.

Taylor is doing Jury Duty in Nashville today. She took some pictures with fans. pic.twitter.com/jQunn8HcNT

— Taylor Swift Updates (@TSwiftPR) August 29, 2016

Taylor inside doing Jury Duty in Nashville earlier today. pic.twitter.com/OV0govxfEr

— Taylor Swift Updates (@TSwiftPR) August 29, 2016

Even though Swift was absent from Sunday’s award show, she definitely wasn’t forgotten. Kanye West name dropped Swift during his speech, which came before he premiered his new Flashdance-esque “Fade” music video.  West once again reiterated that he gave Taylor a courtesy call about his song “Famous,” alluding to their most current feud.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Taylor Swift Excused From Nashville Jury Duty Due to Pending ‘Grope’ Case appeared first on Law Street.

Happy Monday! Check out Law Street’s best stories of the week below, ICYMI:

1. Senator Claire McCaskill Live Tweets Jury Duty

Most people don’t really like jury duty. Turns out that Senator Claire McCaskill, a Democrat from Missouri, is not most people. The senior U.S. Senator from Missouri and lawyer took to Twitter today to live tweet her jury duty experiences, and proclaimed that serving on a jury is on her “bucket list.” Read the full article here.

2. What We Can Learn from the Boy who Snuck into the Democratic Debate

Amidst commentary on how Hillary Clinton has ramped up, pointed attacks on Bernie Sanders, and Sanders’ constant mention of how well he is polling, you may have missed one of the most interesting points of the Democratic debate this past weekend: a 17-year-old boy in a handmade silk jacket who–although he didn’t seem out of place–certainly wasn’t where he was supposed to be. Check out the story here.

3. Best Legal Tweets of the Week

Twitter is a great place for law school students, lawyers, and those interested in the legal field to vent their feelings. Check out the top legal tweets of the week in the slideshow here.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post ICYMI: Best of the Week appeared first on Law Street.

Most people don’t really like jury duty. Turns out that Senator Claire McCaskill, a Democrat from Missouri, is not most people. The senior U.S. Senator from Missouri and lawyer took to Twitter today to live tweet her jury duty experiences, and proclaimed that serving on a jury is on her “bucket list.”

McCaskill’s Twitter feed included tips for potential jurors, including seat choice, lunch recommendations, and fashion advice:

As usual Callow has succinct advice. “@publiceyestl Sit near an outlet.” Check. pic.twitter.com/QnfertUqZZ

— Claire McCaskill (@clairecmc) January 25, 2016

I recommend dark casual slacks and gray cardigan. #whatimwearinghttps://t.co/6cZEOvQrCv

— Claire McCaskill (@clairecmc) January 25, 2016

I brought some salad and hard boiled eggs from home. #preparedhttps://t.co/8AxnEkMCfK

— Claire McCaskill (@clairecmc) January 25, 2016

McCaskill also shared an amusing series of tweets about the control of the TV in the waiting area for the jurors:

This is gonna get https://t.co/AGxJhnqDyc in the room where we’re waiting.Someone for the remote. Now what channel? #pleasegodnotfoxnews

— Claire McCaskill (@clairecmc) January 25, 2016

Are you crazy? No way I want the remote. I work for these people… https://t.co/3j8X28gLbV — Claire McCaskill (@clairecmc) January 25, 2016

Remote person settled on Comedy Central. Not bad, kinda safe choice. But noticed one woman grimacing over off color jokes. #juryroomdrama — Claire McCaskill (@clairecmc) January 25, 2016

Eventually, McCaskill did get called into the back for a voir dire–essentially both sides questioning her to determine if she’ll be on the jury–but it’s unclear whether or not she’ll actually make it on to the jury itself. Given that she’s a lawyer in addition to being a U.S. Senator, it’s unlikely.   

A lawyer I know just walked by me in hallway, did double take, said hello and “they don’t want lawyers”

— Claire McCaskill (@clairecmc) January 25, 2016

After receiving her JD from the University of Missouri, McCaskill worked as a prosecutor in Kansas City, as well as in private practice, and she clerked for a judge on the Missouri Court of Appeals. Lawyers often exclude those with legal backgrounds for their juries however, due to perceived biases that could sway the juror’s view of the case, whether consciously or not, or that other jurors could defer to them because of their legal background.

We’ll have to stay tuned to McCaskill’s Twitter feed to see if she ended up being selected, but either way, she found a fun way to pass the time while she waited.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Senator Claire McCaskill Live Tweets Jury Duty appeared first on Law Street.

Jury duty is often considered to be one of the “necessary evils” of life. Some people are lucky enough to never get the summons, while others seem to be prime choices. But few people know what to do once they get that summons in the mail, and fewer still know about the judicial history and roles that juries play. Read on to learn about the intricacies of the American jury process.

Why do we have juries?

Though it is often maligned, serving on a jury is an important civil service that allows us to have fair trials. Many consider this act to be one of the best ways that citizens can assure that the judiciary holds up our rights and liberties. Each potential member of a jury will first receive a mailing. Any other form of contact, including phone calls and in person visits, should be considered fraud and reported.

A jury is promised to citizens of the United States in the Constitution:

AMENDMENT VI

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

Juries are representatives from the community that make up a cross section of that community; rarely will there be two people who are alike. The goal is to be as impartial and fair as possible when trying to reach a verdict.

There are slight differences between juries in civil and criminal cases, but both are given clear instructions on what they need to decide. In a civil case, the burden of proof o the plaintiff, or the obligation to prove what one says, is much lower than the burden of proof on the prosecutor in a criminal case. The burden in a criminal case is beyond a reasonable doubt, while in a civil case the burden is “preponderance of the evidence,” or more likely than not, in most cases.

To serve on a jury, one must:

• Be a United States citizen.
• Be at least 18 years of age.
• Reside primarily in the judicial district for one year.
• Be adequately proficient in English to satisfactorily complete the juror qualification form.
• Have no disqualifying mental or physical condition.
• Not currently be subject to felony charges punishable by imprisonment for more than one year.
• Never have been convicted of a felony (unless civil rights have been legally restored).

However, some people can still avoid jury duty even if they meet the above requirements, such as members of the armed forces on active duty, police and firemen, and “public officers” of local, state, or federal governments. These people are not likely to receive a mailing from the state, but in such a case they often can just call in and report the problem. With only a few exemptions, including being physically unable to get to the courthouse, there are few other reasons that a person would be allowed to call in with an excuse–everyone else must fill out the form they received and show up on the given day.

Are there any controversies over juror eligibility? 

As our nation grows and changes, questions about who exactly can be on a jury have evolved. A recent example includes a 2013 California bill that would have allowed undocumented immigrants to serve on juries. California assemblyman Bob Wieckowski (D-Fremont) did not want to change any of the other stipulations for serving on a jury, but hoped that this particular bill would reduce the amount of times one person would have to serve on a jury, and would also “help integrate immigrants into the community.” The bill was eventually vetoed by Governor Jerry Brown, who said, “Jury service, like voting, is quintessentially a prerogative and responsibility of citizenship.” Still, it helped to raise questions about who exactly should serve on a jury.

There are also concerns about the age at which one can serve on a jury–questions are raised that 18 may be too young, or on the flip side, not young enough. In George v. United States, a minor defendant who was under indictment for violation of the Selective Service Act of 1948 challenged the exclusion of minors from the grand jury. The Ninth Circuit rejected the challenge, upholding the right to exclude minors from jury service.

What does a jury do?

Serving on a jury is a very formulaic procedure that requires a lot of “hurry up a wait” timing. Each step is meticulously thought out, but just takes time because of the sheer amount of people that they call at one time.

Here’s how the process is supposed to go: You’ll be expected to bring photo identification (driver’s license, state ID card, student ID) so that they can verify your identity and jury summons. Then you will sit and wait while everyone else checks in and things happen behind the scenes. Eventually, you may be subject to a voir dire. Voir Dire is “the second stage of jury procedures, and is the process by which the court and the attorneys narrow down the pool of juries to the 12 people that will decide the case.” How this happens largely depends on the state, the case, and even the specific judge. You may be asked questions so that the lawyers can determine who is going to be fair and able to listen to the facts of the case without jumping to conclusions. Lawyers are trained to look at every single thing you do while answering the questions; as a result, people are often released for reasons that may seem unclear.

The lawyers are looking for anything that may make the potential juror biased against the person he or she is defending. Some of those disqualifiers may be personal knowledge of the case, or prejudicial views. Others include:

• Negative pretrial publicity.
• A connection to law enforcement.
• Being a victim in a similar case.
• A past connection with someone involved in the trial.

Jurors can also be disqualified for falling asleep, illness, contact with the defendant, or bringing outside information into the court.

What problems are there in jury selection?

One of the biggest problems that comes from juries and jury selection is that “well rounded” aspect that they go for–often, it isn’t as well rounded as they had hoped. One of the biggest problems in recent memory was the grand jury in the Ferguson case: the jury was largely white, middle-class people on the older side.

According to CNS News:

The grand jury is composed of 12 people “selected at random from a fair cross-section of the citizens,” according to Missouri law. The jury is 75 percent white: six white men, three white women, two black women and one black man. St. Louis County overall is 70 percent white, but about two-thirds of Ferguson’s residents are black. Brown was black. The officer is white.

While a grand jury is a slightly different process, this example highlights the difficulty of finding a good cross section of people to serve on an unbiased jury.

Sometimes the problem isn’t always with who is included in the jury, but who was excluded and why. The Equal Justice Initiative explains that many African American jurors are excluded from juries because lawyers sometimes think that they won’t be unbiased, explaining:

In Powers v. Ohio, 141 the United States Supreme Court held that jurors have a right not to be excluded based on their race, yet race-based exclusion continues to stigmatize growing numbers of Americans.

Serving on a Jury

If you are one of the “lucky” few, you are then sworn in by the judge. You will receive some basic notes about what you can and cannot do during the trial. Both sides will remind you not to make decisions until you have heard everything, and you will be encouraged to pay attention to every little detail. During the trial, you will not be allowed to talk to anyone about what is going on inside the courtroom; this rule includes members of your family, or reporters who might want a scoop.

After the trial starts, you may be shuffled back and forth a few times depending on what is argued. From there, you can just expect discussions and explanations from many different people. Each case is handled differently depending on the evidence and the people present. Eventually you will hear the closing arguments and move to deliberation.

The first step of the verdict is usually to select a spokesperson whose “role is to preside over discussions and votes of the jurors, and often to deliver the verdict.” The jury is also free to ask questions or look closely at evidence. They then have to deliberate away from any other people. If something goes wrong, like a juror speaking to an outside party, or if a juror seems “off,” they can be removed. Deliberations may take a few hours, or they could take days. In some cases, the jury will not be able to reach a unanimous decision. While in some courts having ten out of 12 people agree still serves as a valid decision, others will call it a hung jury and declare a mistrial.

However, there is another controversial choice that few people know about–jury nullification.

Jury Nullification

When many people serve on a jury, they often think that they have two options to decide upon: guilty or not guilty. However, there is a third option that few people know about–jury nullification, or the practice of saying “not guilty” in a case involving a law you feel is unjust. Basically, the jury feels that the defendant does not deserve that particular punishment for what he or she did.

This is a jury’s way of saying, “by the letter of the law, the defendant is guilty, but we also disagree with that law, so we vote to not punish the accused.”

For a full explanation, see the video below.

 Conclusion

Some people love serving on a jury while others hate it–it all really depends on what kind of person you are; however, it is one of your duties as a citizen, and the chances of you actually serving are very low. While the juror system has evolved significantly over time, and there are still questions that routinely pop up, it stands strong as one of the tenets of the American justice system.

Resources

Primary

U.S. Courts: Juror Qualifications, Exemptions, and Excuses

New York Western District Courts: Frequently Asked Questions – Jury Duty

U.S. Courts: Jury Service

Additional

American Bar Association: How Courts Work

Cornell: Sixth Amendment

FindLaw: How Are Potential Jurors Selected?

Fox News: California Bill Would Let Illegal Immigrants Serve on Juries

New American: New Hampshire Jury Nullifies Major Felony Marijuana Case

American Bar: Effective Voir Dire

Bloomberg View: Ferguson’s Grand Jury Problem

Court Listener: George v. United States

Find Law: What is the Role of a Jury in a Criminal Case

Fully Informed Jury Association: Can a Juror Be Removed?

The People’s Law Library of Maryland: What to Expect the Day You Go to Court

Lawyers: Excluding Jurors: Removing and Disqualifying

The New York Times: Jury Duty? Prepare for Rejection; Though Many Are Called, Few Ever Deliberate

Primer: Five Easy Steps For Surviving Jury Duty

The Pennsylvania Code: Conduct of Jury Trial

Truth Out: Jury Nullification: Why Every American Needs to Learn This Taboo Verdict

Wise Geek: What Happens When There’s a Hung Jury?

Flex Your Rights: Nine Arguments for Nullification Debunked

Lifehacker: Eight Myths About Jury Duty, Debunked

Noel Diem

Law Street contributor Noel Diem is an editor and aspiring author based in Reading, Pennsylvania. She is an alum of Albright College where she studied English and Secondary Education. In her spare time she enjoys traveling, theater, fashion, and literature. Contact Noel at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Here’s What You Can Expect When You’re Called For Jury Duty appeared first on Law Street.