Good day, y'all,
I just dropped by to see what was goin' on with my Lawdog Pards, and read this thread, and it struck a chord for me; I have wondered many times, if having been a badge packer in the past made one inelligible to serve civic duty as a juror. In some venues, I think it must; I think I have been "tainted for life".
I was a "San Bernardino County Sheriff's Reserve - Search and Rescue" officer from 1964 to 1968, when we moved from SBCounty to Orange County. S&R members were sworn and badged "non-enforcement" Deputies, at that time - no academy or formal LE training; in addition to our S&R duties, we were on tap for traffic and crowd control during parades and such, and were welcome to "ride along", if we were so inclined, and interested.
After we moved to OC, I got called for JD about every two years, and one of the first questions that any attorney, prosecution, or defense asked, was if any prospective jurors were, had ever been, or were related to, or friends with any law enforcement officer, policeman, or sheriff or marshall. Of course, I answered in the affirmative, and was always promptly excused from empanelment. The jury commisssion would not quit calling me, though; a real waste of my time, my employers time, and the county's resources.
Just an interestin little observation from an old "non-lawdog".