I frequently read that people have to do jury duty. This is mandatory for all Americans? How long do your jury duty do?
Do you like this?
It seems difficult if not criminal attorney or someone familiar with doing this.
To get a good insight into a criminal case to know whether this person should be condemned or not or guilty or not guilty.

If you are a U.S. citizen then it is mandatory (if you are called). There are ways to get excused from jury duty (I was excused once, and so was my wife....she was really bummed that she couldn't do it).

It can last for a few days, or much longer if you get assigned to a long case.

Maybe a good excuse is "I'm reading the threads on CHM.
So all American citizens have their "jury duty"?

ALL Americans of voting age can, and most likely will be summoned to appear in court for a jury trial. You must be a citizen. Most of the time they excuse everyone before a trial starts cuz an agreement is reached (ie one of the defendants changed their mind).
Many are called, but only 12 are chosen. After many questions from the Judge and the Lawyers, they choose 12 that they feel will best judge the case.

Then the trial starts. Witnesses are interviewed and evidence is brought out. Then the 12 go to a small room where they discuss it amongst themselves and reach a verdict as to whether the person(s) guilty or not guilty.

It's a lot more involved and deeper than I'm explaining here, but that's it in a nutshell.

And yes, if a citizen gets a summon to appear as a juror and doesn't show up, the judge can punish that citizen including time in jail.

Some employers pay their workers for jury time, some don't.

Some trials last a week or 2. Some last months.

The one I was called to started yesterday and was slated to last 3 weeks. I do not get paid for jury duty by my employer so I would have lost those weeks of pay.... and that would have hurt being Christmas time.

It is the basis of our judicial system to be judged by our peers. It's suppose to be an honor for a citizen to serve, however most people (myself included) are not interested in doing jury duty. It's scary, boring and costly

Some trials are sequestered, which means the citizen doing the jury service cannot, by law, see or talk to their own families or friends for the duration of the trial. (such as the Casey Anthony trial, where the families couldn't see their families for over 2 months)

Watch the excellent movie "12 Angry Men" to get a little (Hollywood version) insight on the deliberation process (where the 12 people decide the guilt or innocence of the the accused). Good film.

A better movie would be "JURY DUTY" with Pauly Shore.

And I still wouldn't want to be judged by a panel of people too STUPID to get out of jury duty. If you're that weak minded and easily swayed, NO WAY would I want you deciding my fate.

some of the older dudes wanted to be there. 1 old guy had served 4 times in the past, this was his fifth.

They had to let one guy go cuz his son is in prison for the same charges = armed robbery.
This tweaker chick was kicked out (she clearly liked speed).
A high school history teacher was prejudice. He was asked to leave cuz he stereotypes his students by the fact that the ones "who lie, steal and cheat are typically African American or Mexican" (I about fell off my chair when I heard that !!!! And this dude is teaching high school !!!)
They let several others go cuz they've been robbed themselves and wouldn't be able to give a fair decision.
I was let go cuz my best friend is retired LAPD. They asked, so I told them, he's shared with me many stories.
"Will having family members who are in law enforcement and your retired friend affect your bias ?"
I said yes, that I will believe anything that an officer says under oath over anyone else who takes the stand.
I just told the truth... they said bye bye

I got a call for duty one time but asked to be postponed because my son was due during the time I was on call. I was told it would be postponed until the following January. So a day or two before I was supposed to report I called because I hadn't received my new instructions and it turned out they hadn't included me on the new list so happy new year to me! I probably would have been excused anyway because my father-in-law and brother-in-law are both retired cops and I woulda played that up.

Wow, I've been called at least once a year since I turned 18. I've only had to show up twice though, all the rest were cancelled.

My wife gets called almost every year too, and I always laugh cuz she almost always has to go. (she actually likes being on a jury, but can't cuz she's the manager of the Dr's office)