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Let’s face it, no one likes getting a jury duty request. The first sign that you will heading down the bureaucratic path is when you receive a letter in the mail regarding a trial date and time that you’re expected to arrive. Your name can end up on the prospective juror list if it’s in one or more databases, including voter registrations, utility bills, driver’s licenses and property tax rolls. Regardless of your situation and how you ended up getting “called for jury duty,” there are certain criteria that must be met and answers that must be filed with the court clerk before you arrive in the courtroom.

When you get your letter, there will be a set of instructions with it. It really will pay you in the long run to (a) keep this letter, (b) read it carefully and (c) do what it tells you. There are now fines and other civil penalties that can be meted out if you ignore the letter, which is, in point of fact, a legal summons. Be sure to check the due date on the card, and note that (in many locales) the first thing you must do is call a specified phone number and check in. If there is no reason that you cannot serve, you will be told to show at the appointed time and place.

Exemptions and exclusions

If, after reading the instructions, you see that you are not required to serve, you will have to fill a form and mail it in. There is a section to fill out for individuals that have legitimate excuses to miss jury duty. Of course, there are no longer very many reasons that the court will accept. All of the exemption options available to you will be listed on the letter’s questionnaire.

If you have been convicted of a felony, are a sworn peace officer currently on active duty, are in the military (with certain exceptions) or are the sole support and care for an elderly or disabled person, you will be disqualified from service in most states. Again, if you have determined that you are not eligible for an excused absence, you are normally expected to call a phone number on the letter to confirm the specific time and place of your jury duty.

Going to court

If you are selected to be in a pool of potential jurors, you will need to arrive on time, without fail. Being a little bit early never hurts, but being even a bit late can get you in hot water. Missing the appointment entirely will result in a bench warrant being issued in some states and counties. When you finally do get to the right place, there will typically be a court officer (bailiff, sheriff, clerk) that will hand you a form to complete with your name and various other types of information that the court needs.

This information you supply will be combined with other data and used to help select the final panel of jurors that will be seated for the trial. Once the officer has collected each form, the judge is then informed that the potential jurors have been “prepped” and they will then be taken into the courtroom.

From Rome to Britain to America

Defense attorneys are present in the courtroom when the “jury pool” arrives, and defendants may or may not be depending upon a number of legal circumstances. In criminal trials, the plaintiff is a prosecutor for the state or county in which the crime was committed, with the case being filed by the district attorney’s office in most jurisdictions. The judge will brief those present in court, including any spectators or media in the gallery, about the case and then the jury selection begins.

“Voir dire” (vwahr deer) is a phrase in law that derives from an Anglo-Norman corruption of the Latin phrase “verum dicere” (to tell the truth). It refers to the process whereby attorneys for both sides, the plaintiff/prosecution and the defense, ask questions of potential jurors to determine their suitability for open-minded, even-handed deliberations. As each name is called, attorneys from both sides will ask the individuals certain questions about themselves and their beliefs, as well as things pertaining to the case. This is the only way to determine if that person will be a suitable choice for the final jury that is “impaneled” to hear the case.

Civic duty can cost you

If you are chosen as a juror, your service is required as a prospective juror for a minimum of one day. In most every jurisdiction the court will tell you to be prepared to remain the entire day. You will typically be advised that, if sworn in as a juror, your jury service will continue until the trial is complete, with the average trial nationwide taking from three days to one week. However, you cannot know in advance how long your service will be. This can present some problems for working people, students and parents of small children.

Some employers will reimburse employees for jury duty time, while others will not. The “per diem” (daily payment) from courts ranges from zero in some states to $15 in California, commencing on the second day of the trial (the first one is always free, as the old saying goes). You will no longer be excused for financial hardship in most states, so get a babysitter for the kids, use up your vacation time and figure out a way to make up for the loss of pay. The fact is, juries are one of a free nation’s best bulwarks against tyranny in government, and everyone should be willing to serve when called.

Robert P. Schuster, P.C., has achieved its reputation as a law firm by winning big cases—in jury trials and in settlements. He has a national reputation for success in representing his clients in cases including intellectual property, business torts, brain injury and commercial litigation

When 20th century medicine matured sufficiently to allow people to survive serious brain injuries, it was thought that a sort of “spontaneous recovery” would happen naturally over a period of one to two years. If the family and the physicians could not rehabilitate the patient in that time frame, they often concluded there would be no further recovery.
It became evident over time, however, that the physical effects of the trauma – tissue and bone damage – were more readily addressed than the problems of impacted behavior and impaired cognition. Negative effects on memory, impulse control, value judgment and the appropriateness of social behavior frequently surfaced. The problem, then, was obviously multidimensional and required the application of multiple treatment modalities.
Many individuals who have sustained serious head injuries still retain the ability to change their behavior, learn (and re-learn) both factual knowledge and personality traits and once again lead productive, meaningful lives.
Family members of brain-injured patients need to educate themselves about head injuries, recovery methods and the ways in which treatment can be optimized. The following key points will help in this important task.
Different, not worse – Injuries that affect the brain will make the patient different, not necessarily “worse.” The first responsibility of rehabilitation planning is to assess the patient’s strengths and weaknesses. The CT scans, X-rays, neurological tests and other medical evaluations are, of course, a necessary step, but it is crucial to ascertain how the patient’s family deals with the behavioral problems.
Maintaining hope – Despite pessimistic prognoses that predict no recovery, the family should maintain hope, especially the sort that is based on new medical findings and leading edge research. Family, friends, nursing staff and physicians should all pay close attention to the patient’s personal interactions, as more data assessed in the treatment plan can mean better medical decisions.
Treating the whole person – Head injury patients often have trouble generalizing the lessons from one environment to another, so any speech or mobility therapy should take place in the variety of settings the patient would encounter in a “normal” life. Two days per week of speech therapy, done in an office setting, would have less remedial value that just a few hours done daily in various settings.
Control comes first – Brain-damaged people can exhibit a range of negative traits, from frustration and anger to depression and confusion. Although understandable, emotional reactions cannot be tolerated when they begin to lead to embarrassment and inhibit social “reconnection.” Before cognitive or even physical rehabilitation can succeed, the patient must re-learn self-control.
Harm reduction – Those who have suffered head injuries should avoid environments with high concentrations of paint and chemical fumes, as well as steer clear of alcohol, non-prescription drugs and other mind- and mood-altering substances. In addition, megavitamin therapy should not be attempted with brain injury patients, as a damaged brain may metabolize these compounds differently. Balanced diets are more than adequate for the delivery of the patient’s nutritional needs. Finally, all medications should be taken only as directed.
Clearly, recovering from a head injury is time consuming, expensive, physically tiring (on patients and family alike) and emotionally demanding. Some patients will improve just enough to decide that the work required for restoration of their pre-injury condition is no longer worth it.
However, temporarily halting the rehabilitation plan does not necessarily translate to “giving up,” nor does it have to lead to skills degradation. Remember, patient attitude is a key to an effective recovery, so be supportive, positive and compassionate at all times, in both medical and family settings.

Robert P. Schuster, P.C., has achieved its reputation as a law firm by winning big cases—in jury trials and in settlements. He has a national reputation for success in representing his clients in cases including commercial litigation, business torts, intellectual property, and brain injury

lePlayer was in Critical Condition due to Brain Injury
Ryne Dougherty a football player for Montclair High School in New Jersey was in critical condition and will be having a hard time of recovering after sustaining a brain hemorrhage during a game one October Monday, according to school officials.
Being the junior linebacker, Ryne Dougherty had been reportedly collapsed after making a tackle during a junior varsity game against Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, N.J. Dougherty was then rushed to the trauma center at the Hackensack University Medical Center, wherein doctors performed surgery.
Montclair High School’s interim principal told The Star-Leger of Newark that Dougherty had sustained a concussion last September 18, after having tackled a player during their practice, and right after that, he did a CT scan before a doctor has cleared him to get back and play.
It has already been known to everyone that CT scans are not sensitive enough to diagnose concussions, however it is not known either as to what other tests did Dougherty has undergone before he was cleared for a return.
Within the last three months, it has been reported that two teenagers died in New Jersey during football activities. One of them is the 17 year old who died in August due to bleeding in the brain after he was tackled during a practice. The other one is the 13-year-old player who died at the same month because of an undetected heart condition.
The National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury of the University of North Carolina said that in 2007, three high school players in the United States have died because of head injuries sustained while playing football, and during that year, there were about 1.8 million teenagers played football in the United States.
Montclair board of Education website released a statement that Dougherty fell to the ground after the tackle; he then stood up briefly, and then fell down again. According to the school district, the tackle did not involve any above the neck contact between any of the players. Dougherty’s collapsed has been accounted for based on the fans, coached and teammates’ reports.
In the past few years, the health and safety conditions of the children and teenagers that played football are being questioned, particularly about the issue of concussions. This issue had raised concerns about the preparedness of school personnel to deal with it. The address the said concern, programs have been created and expanded in order to educate players, coaches and trainers about the nature of the said injuries. Program used by Montclair and Don Bosco is the ImPACT neurological testing program - a computer based testing protocol that will help people in determining as to whether the player has recovered from a concussion.
According to the associate director of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Bob Baly that, his organization is conduction an annual concussion workshop for trainers and that, a medical advisory committee are meeting three times a year to have a thorough discussion about the issue.