so, jurors may not bring cameras, radios, or walkmans. does that mean

[mopinko]

i can't have my iphone?
(cook county)

i have to go to bed soon. but i will check this in the am, i hope.

[taterguy]

1. Make sure it's turned off when you're in a court room

Some judges love the power trip of confiscating them.

Otherwise, I would bring it and ask once you get there.

Or you could check the Cook County website for more details.

[mopinko]

2. it didn't say, although

they did say that they will hold stuff till the end of day for you, soooo....

[Deep13]

3. Can it be used as a camera, radio or walkman?

If yes, then it's probably verboten.

In any case, ask the bailiff.

[mopinko]

4. well, nobody gave much of a shit about my iphone.

besides being admonished in the actual courtroom to at least put it on silent when the judge was present (which was not that much of the time.) it was not a big deal. you were supposed to use one of the all but abandoned phone booths to actually make a call, but otherwise, the whole thing is just to huge to regulate such tiny shit.
nobody wants to hassle people who are there against their will in the first place, i guess.

sure are a lot of whiners in the world, tho. man. people with not that much else to do with their lives crying like babies that they might have to spend a couple of days participating in their democracy. oy.

[Xithras]

5. You know, I just have to mention....

About five years ago my sister was sitting through jury selection, and the judge had warned people several times to completely turn off their cell phones. About halfway through the jury interviews the relatively quiet court room was blasted by the tunes of some top-40 song, and my sister looked on in amazement as some clueless "couldn't have been more than 20" young woman reached into her purse and pulled the phone out. Did she silence the ringer? Did she apologize to the judge? Nope...she answered it and then held up her hand to the judge as if to tell him that she'd be done in just a moment.

The with a waive of his hand, the bailiff was on her only a few seconds later, seizing the phone and dragging her out of the courtroom. He ordered her detained on charges of willfully interrupting a court proceeding (yes, it's an actual crime in California) and she was carted off to a cell. The judge advised everyone else in the room, after she was out of earshot, that the woman would be held until the end of the day (it was early morning when this happened).

My sister told me that a dozen hands shot into pockets and purses at that moment, and that a half dozen chirps and beeps could be heard as cell phones were rapidly powered off.

[kentauros]

6. I have to wonder if some of the rise in arrogance is due to the cell phone.

It enables so many people to be self-important, or to give the illusion of it.

Great story! Glad to see someone getting a lesson in respect :D

[mopinko]

9. pretty sure it is the other way around.

i think things have gone in a more disorderly direction since the rise of the hippies (which i will remain until i die). i think it is a good thing, mostly, but it does lead to some in conveniences.
but i think we never really did come up with a good replacement for a ruler wielding nun, and we pay the price.

[mopinko]

11. the only phone that rang was the judge's.

snark snark.

[Roon]

14. If I am in a car, I leave my cellphone there when going to court

if I am on foot, I turn my cell off long before I enter the court room.

[LostInAnomie]

7. Just smoke a fat joint to keep yourself occupied.

I doubt anyone will give you grief.

[Orrex]

8. When I served on a jury, all cellphones and non-medical electronic devices...

had to be kept in the jury room. That room is locked and secured, though, so I wasn't worried about leaving my cheap-ass TracFone there while we heard the case.

[mopinko]

10. the website said they would lock them up, but

i mean, this is the cook county main courthouse. it is 20 stories. there were at least 300 perspective jurors.

[Orrex]

12. The jury room itself is probably isolated, though

At least, ours was. It was a single room just outside the courtroom. The jury room had only one entrance, and it was locked when we weren't in there.

I live in a small town, but even so we had a bailiff on duty at the end of the hallway that leads to the jury room, in addition to the bailiff who escorted into court and locked the door.

Cook County could certainly be different, of course, but at least in our case the room and the stuff in it were secure.

[mopinko]

13. once you are chosen for a jury, that jury room, yes.

but the jury pool waits in a room with a couple hundred people. some shit just isn't worth hassling people over.

[Orrex]

15. Ah! Now I get it. Sorry!

Yeah, even in my small town the selection room held upward of 100 people. We were instructed to turn off our phones etc. upon entering the courtroom, but we were allowed to keep them with us, at least.

My earlier comment about not banning non-medical electronic devices from the courtroom referred to jurors who'd already been selected.

Sorry for the confusion--I just wasn't comprehending!