Does registering to vote also make you fair game for jury duty?  The answer in one word...yes.  Fear not fellow Americans, here in Colorado, having a drivers license will land you in a courtroom as well. My question though is why would you not want to do your civil duty as an American anyway?

I guess I have never understood why so many do not want to be on a jury. Let's face it, most of us never get a notice in a lifetime and those who do rarely even make it to a trial and even less serve on 6 month trials. Why wouldn't you?

I have been called upon one time and I eagerly went and looked forward to it.  I was being a part of history and doing exactly what our Founding Fathers wanted me to do. What's the big deal?  When my day was done I was actually picked on a 12 man jury for a man accused of murder, let into the courtroom, then notified by the judge that the man had accepted a plea bargain and there would be no trial.

But I was honored to have been chosen as a neutral bystander to decide this mans fate based on principles that were set by men of honor and value some 225 years ago.

So, back to the question...yes, registering to vote may get you called up for jury duty.

Each year, the Judicial Branch receives lists of all registered voters and all holders of driver’s licenses and non-driver identification cards throughout the state, as well as records from the Colorado Department of Revenue. The lists are merged, duplicates and names of deceased citizens are removed, and the resulting list is divided by county location. Throughout the year, each county requests a certain number of names, based on the number of trials scheduled, which are randomly selected from the list. State of Colorado - Judicial Branch

Now I know many of you who are against jury duty claim it's because you'll get fired for taking off work but nothing could be further from the truth:

State law protects a juror’s job. Section 13-71-134, C.R.S. says, 'An employer shall not threaten, coerce, or discharge an employee for reporting for juror service as summoned.'

If you are that against serving as a juror then you will have to surrender your drivers license as well but I don't see that happening for many.  Bottom line is that you may eventually be called to serve on jury duty and you should be humbled, honored and eager to perform your civic duty for not only is it your right it is your responsibility to do so.

This is only my opinion but if you love this country then respect it's Constitution and register to vote and if you get summoned for jury duty, be proud of it!

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