What to wear to jury duty? - Page 4

I shall readily state that in the three times I have been called in NY County over the last 15 years, the improvement from the first, in terms of organization, not wasting my time and telling me what's going on, has been beyond belief. Alas, the facilities were still nowhere up to par -- but that was before Wi-Fi was installed I guess.

I recently received the juror questionnaire, so I expect I'll have a chance to survey any other improvements soon.

Re. appropriate court room attire - you should watch the movie "Withnail and I" for inspiration.

I wouldn't stress about the judges having the slightest recollection of who you are. If you wish to look at jury duty in your capacity as a lawyer, then I would dress to reflect your privileged position within that system.

My wife is a justice in the NYS State Court system. The facilities the lawyers ssee are so far from what one would imagine ina modern American city. In most of the buildings, the anitquated air conditioned system makes audibility all but impossible in the warmer months; there is no capacity to easily hook up audio-visuals for showcases exhibits, etc.; the bathrooms are deplorable; and the clerk's office and file rooms are Dickensian.

Yet, the jsutices fare little better. Her chambers is a shambles of peeling paint, out-of-date heavily used furniture, and poor ventilation. Quite the contrast to the gleaming Italian marble edifice that is the federal courthouse across the street.

When was it not?

You should dress however you want. There really is no reason to get dressed up.

Jon.

I agree. You should see the noble decrepitude of the Surrogate's Court. Hubert Robert would have felt very much at home there. If only they could renovate and RESTORE these maginficent buildings. I fear that the latter's a lost cause, however.

Bad advice. You never know what judge you will end up in front of. If it happens to be the one presiding over one of your current cases, they may well remember you. Attorneys often get harassed a bit during voir dire, and that will make you stand out, not to mention how much face time you'll have if you actually get selected.

Voir dire can be fairly memorable. A couple of weeks after my last jury service, I ran into the defense attorney who dinged me She remembered me right away, even though we'd never met before I walked in for jury service.

I therefore withdraw my bad advice. I appear in Surrogate's Court where there's a trial every decade or so therefore my contact with the Supreme Court is minimal. On reflection, you're quite right. This chap seems very young, though, so would he be appearing before one of these judges himself soon?

Some interesting perspectives to share...


That's from a lawyers' website.


And here is an article from the website of a "jury and trial consulting firm"


One thing is clear: More so than in many everyday situations, potential jurors will be judged by the visual presentation.

Well, the clear solution is for New York state to raise taxes...

Your first quote is from a jury consultant, not a law firm. And that quote makes it clear that an attorney must not make a snap decision based on appearance, but should focus on the person.

Well "this chap" may well appear by himself on a pro-bono case or two in the near future. (And I've already been in court, though obviously not as lead counsel, a number of times).

But perhaps more importantly, I've got the firm's reputation to think about protecting - even if the judge doesn't remember me, he or she will definitely know my firm, and it wouldn't do to present myself poorly.

Given recent discussions, the next time I'm call for jury duty I will wear:
1) short sleeve shirt with ascot, brooch and thin leather gloves (because I have only one short sleeve shirt--yellow Brioni--my wife's 18k yellow gold brooches won't show so maybe NRA as a nice colorful brooch)
2) camouflage pant with sandals (and I do have some ugly bare feet)

Reminds me of the Curb your Enthusiasm where Larry David gets out of jury duty by saying he hates black people and then naturally winds up back in front of the same judge as a defendant along with the black women

Then mensimageconsultant was wrong.


"Should." Most of the myths are based on lazy thinking that "what you see is what you get," that the current situation and personality, often gauged largely through appearance, adequately explain and, at least for similar situations, predict behavior. (The "thinking" likely is a mix of instincts and past experiences.)

It's surprising that more lawyers haven't used this thread to say how they evaulate prospective jurors.