my friend at metroG recommended that i take a look at your site.

as a longtime activist and paralegal, i laughed my damn socks off reading your very funny AND true piece on jury duty.

after having hassle after hassle in Riverside County (like when they insisted that it was NOT a financial hardship for me to show up for one day, even if Unemployment Insurance wouldn't pay me for that day), i said "forget this crap," and i now proudly toss my Jury Summons into the trash can, and tell everyone that is what i do.

having volunteered for many wrongly convicted inmates, i could never sit on a jury because the whole process is all messed up. i don't understand why the Jury Commissioner in all counties doesn't do pre-screening, which would eliminate the folks like me who aren't "qualified" to serve. it is nearly impossible to have them accept anything as a "financial hardship" these days, and that is an insult to everyone (not to mention the "pay" when someone is selected to serve).

i never signed up for the draft, and am still free, so i can't imagine much will happen by tossing my summons. besides, they CAN'T prove they mail these things to people. they are not sent with "delivery confirmation" or "signature confirmation" or "return receipt." all someone needs to say is, "What Jury Summons?" :)

take care.

τΏτ
CRUSADER
(Yep, that's my full legal name and activism is my game!)

I can't recommend blatantly ignoring a jury summons - sooner or later it may catch up with you. The "you can't prove I received it" argument will most likely get tossed by the judge basically because he feels like it, and you'll have no legal recourse. If you've ever tried to fight an undeserved traffic ticket, you know how one-sided our "justice" system can be.

-- N-M

When did you first begin to hate freedom? I love the way you show the escort with the roof obviously removed by the fire department, as if it was cleanly shorn off by an SUV! nice job of deception.

I have a suggestion...Move to Cuba!

It's amazing how some e-mails just scream REDNECK.

You missed the point completely. The Escort photo was introduced to illustrate how an SUV often rides up over a car's bumper and enters the passenger compartment in a collision. In the process, all the safety features incorporated into the car, such as bumpers, crumple zones, air bags, and safety belts, are rendered completely useless. If the offending vehicle, instead of being an SUV, was a car of equal weight (good luck finding one), no intrusion into the passenger compartment would occur.

Deception, eh? The Escort's roof may very well have been cut off by the emergency rescue team - I don't know, and it makes no difference to anything I stated in the article. What kind of damage do you think would kill both passengers and necessitate the car's roof being cut off? A minor dent?

So it's your "freedom" to endanger other people's lives on the road, is it?

As for moving to Cuba, are you sure they don't have SUVs there, too? How do they get around in all that snow?

-- N-M

I thought the quotes you included [regarding SUVs] were stupid.

Keep up the good work.

Sean F.

Thanks, and I shall try. If the e-mails keep up the way they've been going, I'll have enough new stupid SUV quotes to fill another article.

-- N-M