Dodging Jury Duty

Findlaw today has this article that provides some sad statistics about jury service in this country. Only about 30 percent of those summoned for jury service show up. It should be no surprise then that when a Los Angeles judge recently ordered almost 300 wayward jurors to present themselves and explain their absences only 8 of them actually showed up. C'mon people, the jury is the great bulwark of liberty standing between you and the state. It only works if you participate.

Of course, maybe some people are down on jury duty because of shenanigans like this. A judge in California has been rebuked for telling potential jurors to lie in order to avoid being on a jury. The judge told jurors that if they might have any racist tendencies, but didn't want to disclose them during voir dire, to make up something else that would allow them to be kicked off the jury. I understand where the judge is coming from - most people who are prejudiced in some way don't want to admit it, certainly not in open court. But there has to be a better way.