Hi, I’m in school to be a paralegal, and right now we are covering UPL which got me thinking about jury duty. Can a paralegal still be called to jury duty, and if so, are there any risks to violating UPL guidelines? What would some examples be? I have never done jury duty before, so I don’t really know what all in entails. Thank you.
2 Answers
Yeh, well, if you tell the other jurors and the Judge and the attorneys in the courtroom than you’re an attorney, that would be a problem. If you contradict the jury instructions because you “know better,” 1) you’re probably wrong; 2) you should send a written question to the judge about the “incorrect” instruction before opening your mouth; 3) it’s the judge’s and attorneys’ responsibility to provide correct jury instructions, not yours; and 4) you might cause a mistrial, be held in contempt of court, and fined or jailed. Is this a limitation on your freedom of speech? You betcha.