Have have never been summoned to jury duty before. Perhaps that is a result of living in several…read morestates and countries over the past decades. Sounds reasonable. A post card was mailed with instructions to complete and online survey. Got an immediate notification that I was selected (woo-hoo!?) followed by a letter about a week later with date and time to appear for Grand Jury service. The Grand Jury meets once a week on Tuesdays and jurors must be available for a three month commitment. You find out if you are either a juror or alternate on day one and the date when your three months are completed. Jurors receive an email with which dates you will be needed. They pay $25 for each day you serve. Alternates only serve if a juror is dismissed. It was a very interesting process on day one. Bags are scanned and you walk through a metal detector. The check-in office is straight ahead and turn left. There are signs. Present your paperwork and ID and once you sign in have a seat in the next room. They had HGTV on and even though signs say to turn off your cell phone, everyone was using them. The Grand Jury does not hear trials, they hear evidence and vote on whether there is enough to go to trial. It's an interesting process of hearing state evidence and you can ask the witness(es) questions. So that's different. Of the 23 jurors, only a dozen have to vote in favor of moving forward to trial unlike at trial where everyone must agree. We were in and out in about two hours on day one. Court days you show up before 9:30 and leave nlt 4pm. There is a cafeteria and restroom on the ground floor. Court rooms are on upper floors. Free parking in garage behind the building or call to get a bus pass. Now you know.

Everything from The courtroom To the pre trial office…read more as well as the smiles and respect that is shown

When the Superior court failed to do its job keeping defendants in line ensuring court rules are…read morefollowed, but you are pro se, the courts abuse you even in blatent violations. Did you know that the Superior Court accepts lles? So now you have to contend with a deceitful healthcare system, egotistical providers as defendants very skilled at lying, partnered with dirty attorneys given a free pass to lie to the court, under oath. Isn't that perjury? Then you appeal that judge's bogus ruling, with case law and rules for civil procedure on your side to get "closed before decision", then reargue to be denied, then as is customary in decisions there is something that provides the basis for the decision. I filed a motion for the reason it was denied, which the defense objected to and then the court closed it, without providing a reason for their decision. Just sounds like back door politics to me. Typical RI. We will see what the next hearing enlightens us with. Again, defendants lied to the court, provided false legal support and should be denied. Update will follow.

Yes, I could not get out of it and yes, boring as hell. The team here does educated you well and…read moretreats you with a high level of respect. Parking was easy and the shuttle driver was funny as hell. It could of been a much worse. They need to excuse self employed people---I was out $800 for the week.

I've never reviewed a courthouse before, so five stars?!…read more I came here and attended the case on Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College back in 2018. So I can only speak about the experience here for the bench trial. Security is strict, and you must leave your cellphone with the front desk. After you tell them which courtroom you are going to, you then go through security. It's airport style, and make sure you have your photo ID with you. If I remember it correctly, the bench trial was on the fifth floor. The elevators were pretty fast. The bathrooms were clean. Actually during one of the days, the fire alarm went off so we had to exit through the side staircase. Outside the room, you get a beautiful waterfront view, it's very pretty! I heard such good things about the cafeteria and now I wish I had a chance to try it. That said, Seaport has transformed so much and there are endless options these days! Love it!

iawtc. I've been on…read moretwo "field trips" as it were to this courthouse for law school so far this year and there's so much to talk about. The court rooms are bright, pretty, with stenciled wall motifs and domed ceilings and colorful carpeting and light wood. They're not intimidating at all and have an old-school town hall meets grandma's living room feeling. I think the idea is to create a sense of community, the idea of a place where the people's voices are heard. Hard to articulate it better than that. It's literally an architectural embodiment of all the floofy ideals they keep telling us in law school that nobody actually listens to. It fits, of course, that all the judges I've met so far (and that's considerable since one of our field trips was a Q&A panel sponsored by the First Circuit in which a bunch of the circuit's top judges talked to us) are magnanimous, paternal and...sweethearts. I can't believe it. Not intimidating at all. It was very much, "You're welcome to come by and watch a trial in my courtroom any time!" Of course, they're all also scary brilliant and classy and composed and articulate like whoa. My second field trip was a sentencing and I think I witnessed the first experience of my life where I've literally seen someone "be merciful." It was even heartwarming. My friend and I had to hold back tears at the end and, keep in mind, we're LAW STUDENTS. LAW STUDENTS AREN'T SUPPOSED TO HAVE SOULS. Then again, the federal courts are supposed to be the "ivory tower" of the American justice system. But, all in all, my experiences at Moakley have been nothing if not refreshing. When I walk in there I really do feel like this is a house of justice. And Brandeis p0wns. Even the US Marshals manning the metal detectors are adorable. I hope if I'm ever indicted in federal court I get to be a defendant at Moakley! Also, subsidized Sebastian's cafeteria is delicious and this building may very well have the best chunk of waterfront real estate in the entire Boston metropolitan area.

Was there only once and was surprised about service, despite a ton of complains. Starting from the…read moreguard and finishing with the court gentleman - everybody was kind and polite. I did not use an attorney, and it was a challenge for me to get through entire process, but with those people there it was so easy, I am so satisfied!

I had jury duty at Waltham District Court. Jurors arrive earlier than everyone else and are the…read moreonly ones allowed in past security from 8-8:30am. If you arrive earlier than 8am the door is closed and you must wait outside. The parking lot was fairly empty this early in the morning. When you enter the building, there are signs prohibiting cell phone use, food, and drinks, but the security guard told us that these rules don't pertain to the jury pool room (although you must silence your phone). After bag scan, the jury must take the elevator (not the stairs) up to the jury pool room. The door to the jury pool room closes at 8:55am at which point John the bailiff shows an introductory video - if you aren't in the room at this time, you have to come back a different day. Of 21 potential jurors called, only 15 reported. One of my fellow potential jurors was 80 years old and didn't realize jury duty is optional for senior citizens. The jury pool room is fairly small for 22 people and consists of about 25 chairs which are passably comfortable (for the first hour or so). In the jury pool room there is a bathroom with two toilets and two sinks, but only one potential juror is allowed to use the bathroom at a time. The bathroom was not particularly clean, but not ridiculously filthy. For amenities, the room has a water cooler, a microwave, a refrigerator, and a toaster, but power outlets are rare. There is a table which fits about 4 people. There are many different magazines you can read while you wait. John the bailiff helped pass some of the time by telling courtroom anecdotes, his point being that things don't always go as scheduled in the courtroom so potential jurors need to be flexible. I tried to nap during my wait, but couldn't find a relaxed position in the chairs and kept getting distracted by the bathroom door opening and closing. In the Waltham courthouse there is only one courtroom. Although the jurors arrived at 8am, the judge didn't show up until noon, at which point we had already all been waiting there for 4 hours. They told us this was unusual - on normal days the jury's role starts at 11:30am. They didn't explain why we have to be there 3.5 hours before we are potentially needed. There were 6 cases on the docket, but only one went to trial. We were told that only 1% of the court's cases end up with a jury trial. We were also told that jury pools are called only 50 times a year (one day a week), and that a trial only occurs 60% of those times. That means that out of the 50*21=1050 potential jurors which are called to the court in a given year, approximately 30*7=210 (20%) actually find themselves impaneled on a jury. On our day there was a trial but I was not impaneled. At about 12:45, all potential jurors were brought into court with the judge, clerk, defendant, attorneys, witnesses and another bailiff, Joe. There was no bathroom availability in the courtroom but I didn't ask what happens if someone has to use the bathroom once they are in the courtroom. At this point, the judge and attorneys go through each juror's survey and ask relevant questions to establish impartiality. Potential jurors are questioned in private (away from other jurors) at the judge's sidebar. At this point, I was briefly placed on the jury, but then immediately removed, perhaps as one of the two juror vetoes allowed by each side's attorneys. I was not told why I was removed or by whom. After the jury was chosen, the courtroom broke for lunch, after which the trial proceeds with 5-7 jurors. On my day, only 6 potential jurors out of the 15 who reported were needed for jury duty. Everyone else (including me) was dismissed at this point because our services were unneeded. When I was able to go home it was 1:15pm, which means I was sitting at the courthouse for 5-1/4 hours. Other than a parking lot, there was not much in the area of the court house. Across the street is a Dunkin Donuts, a CVS, a Petco, and a gasoline station. If you don't have a car, and don't want lunch from Dunkin Donuts, then you should bring your own lunch.

This review is based solely on the fact that I had to do Jury Duty here this past week, I have…read morenever been to this courthouse for any other reasons, and never intend to be. Okay, lets get started. So, I was selected to do my civic duty of Jury Duty this past week at Dedham District Court. Yay!! Not really. Anyways it was the day after the major snowstorm and I called the night before to make sure that I was still on for Jury Duty, which of course I was. I got there at 8am, parked in the rear of the building going through the exit (which I didn't know at the time because it was covered in snow). When I got inside the place was packed with people. The Court Officers were very pleasant and nice. We watched a video on Jury Duty and than the Judge came in and welcomed and thanked us for being there. She informed us that her case would not be heard today and that the majority of people would go home. I didn't get to, instead the remanding people went over to the district courthouse. Went into two cases and wasn't selected for either, and then we were released from our duties. Pros: Super friendly staff and Court officers. WiFi in the Registry of Deeds building. Paid day off (for me at least). Cons: Paying for parking. No WiFi once inside the District Courthouse. Not much fun.

I can't say enough good things about Milford District Court. Judge Eustis granted my motion for a…read moreretrial, and I'll forever be grateful for that open door to a second chance and a new path to freedom. What really stood out was the professionalism and humanity of the entire staff. I'm a cardiac arrest survivor with a defibrillator and absolutely cannot go through metal detectors or be wanded. The court officers here were more professional and understanding than I've ever experienced anywhere else, they handled my medical restriction and the pass card for alternative screening with total respect and zero hassle. That alone makes a huge difference. A major shoutout to Mr. Thomas Carrigan, the clerk of the court, and his whole clerks office team. They are truly amazing and incredibly responsive to email requests for dockets and documentation. Even when I didn't end up needing everything, they laid out the entire process to make it easy and were ready for me if I came in. Most recently, I did visit in person to file a motion form for a fee refund from case. Mr. Carrigan came out personally, politely introduced himself, and was completely upfront that this was a new process for them and they'd need a little time to research the steps. Within a week I had an answer, a clear timeframe for my refund, and even the best days and times to visit to avoid delays. That kind of help is rare and so appreciated. Great service to the public and a great pillar of the justice system. Thank you to everyone at Milford District Court.

The attorneys all seem scared of the one judge who's there. I heard one of them say to the judge…read moreabout someone "yeah, this guy's on probation, but he only committed a new crime. It's not like he missed a meeting with his probation officer". That is appalling for a lawyer to say, and that girl was just pathetic. Good luck!

I just posted a long review but then it disappeared. So I showed up for jury duty. They provide…read moreparking at a church nearby and then you are shuttled into the courthouse. They were about 100 of us just sitting around waiting. All of a sudden they called my number and said "juror 172! Please come to the front." Once I approached they said there's a three year time allowed before you can do jury duty and you were here 2 1/2 years ago. I then asked why they sent me the notice to appear??? The gentleman sitting at the desk said well it was a mistake, but it's your responsibility to keep track of when you were here last. Wow! I was then excused without compensation. Took a day out of work to perform my civil duty, only to be excused because of their lack of attention to detail. If I am ever asked to be a juror again, I am going to make every effort to get out of it.

I was supposed to go to Jury duty. The day before I was supposed to report, I got a text telling me…read more"my jury service was cancelled" and NOT to report. No details as to why. Nothing on the news about problems with the building, either. (we'd had a big rainstorm the day before, with flooding in some places, and it's at the bottom of a hill). I took time off work for this, plus canceled/had to reschedule a medical appointment and a piano lesson. I was told they would call again on another occasion (no idea when that will be). They could call me again any time between now and next July, I'm still on the hook. I'm just hoping and praying it won't be during a very important trip I have in May of 2024, that I'll have to cancel last minute and lose my money. I hate to be stuck having to pay for travel insurance that will add hundreds more dollars to the trip, due to this uncertainty I'm now stuck living with. I wish I could get lucky and maybe they will forget about me, but I doubt it. They seem to forget that people have lives. I'm semiretired, but I'm not sitting home bored in a rocking chair, waiting for them to call, that's for sure!

:( For a court that…read moreserves so many communities, this one sure is a BITCH to get to. If I have to use the "Doctors appointment" excuse one more time, my boss is going to think I have terminal illness! With the commute aside, the court isn't all that bad. Constructed in the mid 70s, and furnished with many broken benches and archaic decor, the building is located in the heart of the WORST city, ever. You are about a 3 minute walk to such sites to see as Dunkin Donuts, Family Dollar, and I think there was a store that accepted WIC cards. Dress Code: It is not necessary to show up in your Sunday's best. I decided on a Claiborne suit, and was quite out of place. Basically, there is no need to dress for a black-tie function, if you are ending up at Chuck E. Cheese. Most of the other patrons were dressed in track suits, tank tops, faux Juicy Couture pants, Hooter's t-shirts, and I saw a few ankle bracelets for added flare (/ safety). :( The Staff: The probation officers are sincere and friendly, and the judges seem pretty nice, too (as long as you don't "act a fool" like some of the more aggressive clientele). Also, there is a mean, short woman in the clerk's office. Her and I will NEVER be BFFs. Basically there is no such thing as "guilty" in Massachusetts. You may plead guilty, but they will forgive you, and tell you "no probz. just try not to do it again, plz?" and then you are on your way back to the Red Line for the LONGEST ride home, EVER. I would have given 4 stars if there were a cafeteria present, like the one on TV's 'Night Court'. :'(

The staff and law enforcement are vigilant to keep staff and visitors safe and protected at all…read moretimes!