Jury Selection… from a lawyer’s POV

[@TabethaStirner]

Hey i just wanted to compliment the editor and whoever brainstormed the engagement boosting stuff

[@randomicon918]

The ADHD crap that doesn’t keep the image still for 2 seconds? It drives me bonkers and is hard to watch. Worse than an episode of SpongeBob.

[@TabethaStirner]

@randomicon918 i really dont enjoy the ticktock editing either but its good for the creator's channel and n u can just ignor it Unless ur really insecure. But the thing where they splice in random clips *is* unbearable

[@reeceprime]

more long from videos please!! loved this one very much

[@Churchtwinblades]

I got selected to do Jury duty a few years back, and I'm one of those weird people that got excited! I've never done jury duty and I do think it's a very important thing to do. Unfortunately, after 3 hours of waiting in the pool, all the cases that were for a specific courtroom were settled beforehand and so we never even got to the question process. One day though. One day...

[@nowahn2020]

I was summoned for jury and I also was really excited. But covid hit and I just didn't go

[@SanitLover]

More long form this is fun to watch

[@willisilikefood9492]

This video is criminally underrated.

[@adorabell4253]

Jury duty would be a lot less onerous if jurors got a full day's pay, meal, and transportation covered. For all the days they were on the jury.

[@MikeRafiLawyer]

Where does that money come from? - what government programs do you want to cut in order to make that happen?

[@plesiolord1229]

​@@MikeRafiLawyerwe should discontinue social security let it run out as other private programs are more efficient and replace it for paying jurors and giving them these facilities.

[@thunderdeed1]

@@MikeRafiLawyer that's a good point. So make it a national law your employer has to pay you for jury duty.

[@TabethaStirner]

@@MikeRafiLawyer take Bezos' yacht

[@TabethaStirner]

@thunderdeed1 yea i font think it happens often enough for it to put a noticeable dent in most employers' bottom line unless they have thousands of employees, in which case they can handle it

[@allyj4322]

I like the longer form :)

[@NNNNNNNNNNNNNN1123]

longer form rambles 100x better, just make sure theyre edited down like this

[@pmonk1487]

Last time I was called: I had a reasonable certainty who was going to be excused by 11am, but no one was let free until after 5pm. The whole day- 8am to 5pm- was sit for an hour, recess for an hour, sit for an hour, recess 1hr, sit for 15min, lunch 45min, sit for 1hr, recess 30min, sit 90min, recess 1hr, finally excusing jurors. We were the last people in the courthouse because the Judge didn't allow excusing jurors until the end of the day.

[@seangormanorozco7003]

This was a great to see! I work as a judicial interpreter and am at trial frequently so, it was really cool to hear an attorney talk about strategy during voir dire and hear that perspective. Granted, we see mostly criminal proceedings but are given the occasional civil or conciliation matters. Thanks for the video.

[@Yusuf-ep6yz]

i’m very happy to see that you are investing in long-form content. shorts are fun, but longer videos let us get the whole picture. thanks esquire Rafi!

[@bluejaysbaseball]

This video was so informative. I would love to see more of this style video

[@bleuoval64]

Maintenance records stood out to me in the example Mike gave. If there are maintenance records showing the brake lights were working fine yesterday, that's great. However, the absence of those records is tricky. It's not difficult to change those bulbs. I changed one last year myself, so I don't have records from a shop showing it was changed. I also never considered keeping the receipt from when I bought the $3 bulb. However, having watched this video, I will start saving those receipts for this very reason. Should I be the victim in this example, I want to be able to prove that I purchased replacement bulbs should that need arise.

[@Fusako8]

I keep spare in my car, since they're small and you never know when you'll need one. (Mostly I end up fixing friends lights though.)

[@Isaac.Eiland-Hall]

I appreciate videos like this. It's really awesome to learn some of the stuff I've never seen. I'm one of those weirdos that would like to serve on a jury - maybe only once. But I'd like to do that service for my country, because it is one of the most important things a citizen can do. I know I'd want someone fair and impartial and interested in trying to to their best should I ever find myself in such a situation, which I hope I never do.

[@MaybeAnnatar]

Love these longer videos.

[@kwekwlos]

Yeah these longer videos are great

[@aaronho1914]

Cool to learn more about it. The one time I had a jury duty it was right before Christmas weekend. Remember two groups being called within 2 hours and then by the 3rd they told us all to go home 😂

[@lisahealey6454]

I've been called to jury duty twice, and both times were very different. The first time I did not get selected, it was like a cattle call and they had about 50 of us in the court room. They said the first 12 that didn't get excused would be chosen (I was number 47) They asked "raise your hand" questions and based on the answers both lawyers needed to agree to excuse the juror. I don't remember most of the questions, but the one I do was if anyone had and extreme feelings, good or bad, about police officers. One woman raised her had and said that they are all liers and horrible people. Both lawyers agreed that she should be excused. The jury I did end up being on, the process was different. It was still in a group and they asked the questions in this big group, but it was more asking us individually. It was an interesting process, and I wish we could have rated the lawyers. We ended up ruling for the defendant, but we were not impressed with the lawyer. We hated the lady that tried to sue the property owner, but her lawyer was very personable. You could tell he was nervous, but what really impressed us was that even after he lost he stood outside the jury room and shook all of our hands and thanked us for the job we did as we were leaving. If we could have given him brownie points for that we would have. (P.S. both sides had "expert" witnesses, one was an architect and I can't remember what the other one was, both said that a civil engineer would be best to determine what they were trying to prove/disprove...but neither side asked a civil engineer to testify! We were baffled by that lol)

[@nicholasgeorge4156]

I had jury before it was the worst experience from the beginning. They didn’t even know if I had to go til last minute. Summons said to call a number for a time and instead they said to follow summon directions. Contradicting each other. Then we watched an intro video about why jury is a thing. Then went to the court room and answered 5 questions in front of 40 people about if we know any of them or where we work. Then waited 4 hours while they narrowed down selection.

[@justinsigmund6200]

I’m fortunate enough to where my job pays me for jury duty. So not going to lie, I’d love to do jury duty at least once.

[@benjaminmatheny6683]

My take on jury duty is that as awful as it is for the jurors, the subjects of the case are operating in one of the most pivotal moments of their lives, especially in a personal injury case. Personally, I would bet I would always just struck from the jury pool due to my anti-corporate bias. I would default to trying to award a plaintiff as much as possible if they were injured by a company's actions or in-actions.

[@MarkMcEwen-z8g]

My dad was told on Jury duty that the insurance company had settled. This lead the jurors to think that the money was coming out of the defendants pocket and not the insurance company. A lot of people have that bias and they find ways around it. Most people don’t like corporations.

[@BnFGProductions]

I find the idea of jury trials for civil claims kind of wild honestly, as a lawyer practising in the UK.

[@kozapytapl]

6:24 tie changes color.

[@manyworldsvideo]

Cuz he’s playing the juror.

[@sreekanthsyamala9892]

Longer videos are the best ngl ❤

[@MikeRafiLawyer]

Thanks

[@alirae3663]

Okay. As someone who is interested in true crime, lawsuits etc obviously I’m more likely to be “excited” to be selected for jury duty-but I love that in your questions you are also giving me the “things I should pay the most attention to” type of cheat sheet!!

[@RGPhotobiz]

“I fully intend on delivering a guilty verdict no matter the outcome”

[@queenscylla90]

I got selected for jury duty a couple months after losing my house to a hurricane... Needless to say, mitigating circumstances plus no longer living at that address made me ineligible to attend. It took a wild amount of effort to get it dismissed though.

[@jeancorzo4755]

This is so interesting and fun to learn

[@Melds]

I've been on several juries in California and the selection was a bit different. The first 12 jurors are put in the jury box, questioned, and the lawyers would take turns and "would like to thank and excuse juror number X" and the next in line would go and take their seat. Then the two alternatives are selected the same way. Every juror is given a unique juror number, printed on the badge, and names aren't used.

[@mixe]

do you think the lack of names are to reduce any possible subconscious discrimination or prejudice?

[@Melds]

@@mixe That's a good question. I've always thought it was more for juror safety since the proceedings are open to the public, but that could also be a factor.

[@oddott]

all i've learned is that mike rafi and his editor LOVE the cha cha slide

[@Awake129]

This is fascinating. Boy you as a counsler you get no re-dos, do you. You have to seem real and sincere from the jump. Thank god i have no personal expeirence with those situations. Great job. Your very well spoken. Just crushin it! I have a stutter so.... Its just somthing i pay an too much attention to. Liked and subbed. ✌️😎 Philadelphia, USA

[@nathanaeld.striker7191]

12:36 Yep. In Oregon, for example, jurors can only be referred to by number, if I recall correctly from my previous experience.

[@jencrochetingradtech5913]

My state pays $12 a day for being on the jury. Yeah that doesn’t cover gas for the drive to and from the courthouse. What do other states pay? It isn’t universal across the United States is it

[@joshuasolorzano4218]

I’m looking to go to law school and practice injury law. Can you make a short or video about what a day in the life of an injury attorney looks like?

[@Beyondthe5thPanel]

I’m still concerned about the prospect of ever being chosen for jury duty,, but if I was in your district, I would hope that You were there. Already I feel respected.

[@slashrjl]

I was juror number 136, picked 14th on a federal jury, so a lot of jurors before me must have got excused for cause!

[@MIKAEL212345]

might've been they did a bunch of a juries on the same day.

[@rebmichelle]

This has nothing to do with jury selection and I’m not sure if the team even responds to comments, but I’m curious about you being a paperless office! Do you spend more on data security? Do you have processes for keeping physical data backups, like putting things on USBs or hard drives every day/week? I worked at a small law office (one lawyer) for a few years and we did digital and physical, but I knew of another attorney who was so old school his office didn’t even have a phone or email (idk how he made that work lmao). If anyone else has worked in any kind of paperless office lemme know!

[@gar24407]

Taking notes of how to get kicked out of a jury😂😂😂

[@anthonyobryan3485]

No notes needed. When asked if you can be impartial, just say no. You're off.

[@marekwooszczak9084]

Keep up. Very interesting stuff, especially from someone having no idea how trials works in US.

[@dustoff1472]

Excellent education. Thank you for sharing.

[@DobieTanpaw]

In 27 years of being eligible to serve on a jury, I've received one total summons. That was last year, and I was not chosen. But it's honestly something I really want to do... I want to see the process from that perspective. And I honestly don't care if it's a civil or criminal case, though I think a criminal case could be more interesting.

[@PTNLemay]

Are you going to cover the case of Disney using the Disney+ terms and conditions to protect themselves from the lawsuit involving someone who got food poisoning at Disney World? It seems crazy and could really use some proper lawyer clarification.

[@rebmichelle]

Legal Eagle did a great video on this!

[@groermaik]

I was called for jury duty three times. I worked for the Department of Corrections. I was always thanked and excused from duty.

[@AnAZPatriot]

Yep, that'll do it. An arm of the govt.

[@JenniferCanali]

Great Video! Thanks!

[@Skyler827]

His last sentence at the very end is the most impressive part of the video

[@islekyle2825]

Thank you for the video!

[@DiustheZ]

Bias is the window through which we view the world around us. Sometimes we have a negative bias that like a bit of dust or grime can be cleaned up with a bit of effort. First you need to recognize it and then you can do something about it.

[@graygrumbler4253]

Nine times summoned. Four times excused the day before reporting. Once reported in and was excused immediately. Once called in and sat for 7 hours only for a judge to appear and thank us for our service (our presence resulted in a plea deal). So 3 voir dire. Civil case stuck for cause by both sides (I am a scientist and case was an environmental science based suit). Quadruple 1st degree murder case and struck by defense. Criminal case (three charges) and served on the jury which was looking like a hung jury until the defendant accepted a plea deal to change his plea on the 1st charge to guilty and an acceptable (to the judge) sentence term so the jury was dismissed before verdict.

[@graygrumbler4253]

Oops, forgot --- Great video.

[@AnAZPatriot]

Yeah, a lot of lawyers don't like to have highly educated STEM people on jurees if there is going to be technical data presented, unless the data is in their favor so one side or the other invariably strikes you.

[@machintelligence]

Mine was the opposite experience. Over the last 50 years I have received 8 summonses and have served on 5 juries (all criminal) and was the foreman on three of those. On one jury, a young man who was was the son of a sitting judge in the same building was left on the jury. We elected him foreman and he did a great job.

[@descendency]

I am biased against people who are represented by lawyers who like the Jets.

[@DandaFundas]

They took two days up here in North Cal for Jury selection for a DUI case.

[@williamowsley9771]

In my jurisdiction, we always had juror questionairres that were filled out and provided to the lawyers before the trial began. Fairly basic information like have you ever been on a jury before, if so civil or criminal or both, occupation, etc. Just basic background stuff, but it saved a lot of time. I don't know why more jurisdictions don't do that.

[@williamowsley9771]

And it also cuts down on some of the obvious manipulation that Mr. Rafi likes to employ

[@45Deere9500]

I've been called for jury duty twice. First time I was an alternate juror. After the juror selection process was completed, the trial commenced that day, but didn't conclude. The next morning, when all regular jurors were present, I was dismissed from service on that trial. Second time at jury duty, I made it to jury selection, but was the first person dismissed being as I was on the county board and the type of trial it was, there could likely be a conflict. The lawyers didn't even ask any questions of any potential jurors, the judge just called my number, gave the reason I was dismissed and that was that. While not something I would say I really wish to do again, I will say I'll willingly go through the process again, should I be called. It's the system we have, and it takes people being willing to serve as a juror for it to work.

[@dannymurray1854]

The ‘I promise I will be shorter’ is pure slime from the defense

[@LoreDeluge]

Yep. Not how I was picked for grand jury. I told them I was pregnant and would not be able to sever the last two months. They still picked me. I served for six of the 8 months. Then I get a summons every two years. Also was sent a state summons, while serving on the grand jury. We have over 80,000 people in our county. Annoying

[@Nick-un1em]

Mike, can you do a video on Expert witnesses? I'd love to know the bests & worsts from a lawyer's perspective. From finding, qualifying, determining if they're worth it, getting them prepped for chief & cross, and same for how you prep for the other side's expert..

[@JoelReid]

In Australia as the jurors are randomly selected from whom was called the lawyers simply have the option to object to their selection as they walk up. There is no question time, the jurors themselves are expected to announce any bias they may have due to relations to the case. The jurors may announce why they should be excused and the judge decides if it is relevant reason. In an Australian town i have seen jurors excuse themselves for knowing the accused, and I personally have known to excuse myself for knowing a witness whom worked with my wife (i wasn't randomly selected, but had that issue if i was). in Australia jury selection is usually 3 hours from them entering the building to finalisation of jury, so from 9am to midday. Although i saw one issue where it took longer due to jury held back for lawyers debating the case... resulting in dismissal of the jury entirely before they were even selected.

[@BitwiseMobile]

One time I was on a jury and we were coming back from lunch. The defendant was in front of me waiting to get on the elevator. I stalled and took the next one :). Better to not have anyone question. We ended up convicting on one count, one he was acquitted for, and the third charge was a hung decision. That was the one I think the prosecution really wanted to stick, since it was a felony. The other two were misdemeanors.

[@kellyfish920]

I’ve had jury summons twice but I didn’t get picked 😢

[@SAmaryllis]

This was really interesting to hear about! I've gotten summons twice but both times was temporarily living far from home (e.g. college). Kind of sad I haven't gotten the opportunity yet

[@nooneleftbehide]

But are there pictures though?

[@CarltonNoles]

I served on a jury twice. One criminal and one civil. The criminal case the defendant changed his plea to guilty halfway through. The civil case. We found for the plaintiff but I awarded quite a bit less than they were asking.

[@dr.jessemr.hayden575]

So can I deliberately get myself removed from the jury by acting biased?

[@tysonburns9535]

Yes. I almost caused a mistrial once by saying gang members were domestic terrorists.

[@vasaclarke4268]

@@tysonburns9535 while you can do what you like, I'd recommend not flirting with being held in contempt!

[@Carbon_Crow]

Yeah, and water is wet

[@rbdan]

@@vasaclarke4268 you cannot be held in contempt for your beliefs, the only time you’d ever get close is if you said something abhorrent like if you were outwardly racist or otherwise hateful to the judge or court staff. As someone pulled randomly from the population, you’re given a ton of leniency because literally no one wants to punish someone that was forced to be there against their will.

[@texasangel20]

@@vasaclarke4268 The fact that contempt is possible shows the problem with the system. Courts and Judges think they are gods.

[@SquirrellyDan88]

Have you ever seen “Bull” on CBS? I feel like there are some companies out there who specialize in jury selection.

[@jeffdo9195]

If each gets 6 strikes that’s 12 total in AZ there is like 50 people in the court room potential jurors cut down to 12 plus alternates how do they get it down to that if only 12 total strikes?

[@zoe9190]

Its been a long time since i was even summoned for jury duty after i had work send in why i was unable to come to jury duty in my last summons.

[@hannassewingschool4874]

I would like to know what is prejudicial information that can be prohibited? I was plaintiff in a civil case that took 9 years from filing until court. I was told judge prohibited one piece of information. I was cross-examined for 6 hours, most of which were questions I could not answer because the answer was what I had been told I could not say.

[@russellmoore8187]

Curse you for putting Cha-Cha Slide back into my brain ☹️

[@henrycollins2478]

11:08 why not snake draft?

[@danielhong9971]

Where i live, we have to call 24 hrs before and see if we are needed

[@JoelReid]

bit hard if called on a Monday since offices are closed on a Sunday.

[@PoorRevolutionist]

Go Jets baby!!!

[@spryjo01]

Can a defense lawyer ask if a potential juror watches you on KZbin? Or if they know one of the Attorneys personally?

[@MikeRafiLawyer]

Yup

[@spryjo01]

@@MikeRafiLawyer is that like a cause, or would opposing counsel need to strike?

[@MikeRafiLawyer]

Not cause. So long as the juror starts both sides on equal footing and follows the law.

[@David-id6jw]

I have a friend who's been called for jury a duty a few times. He works for the local newspaper (in design), and as soon as he mentions that, it's an instant "NOPE!" from the lawyers. Seems they don't like people whose job is to keep up with news and events? Or is there some sort of assumed bias for people involved with the news?

[@BlightCosmos]

It's possible that lawyers do not like it when the Jury does their own research, the Jury is only supposed to know only the things the lawyers say so its likely when they heard your friend works for the local news they instantly had that reaction. Its just theory though, we don't know the exact things that happened to your friend or the lawyers' mindset

[@pmonk1487]

Once you're on a jury, you are told to avoid outside sources and do NOT under any circumstances talk about the case. The reason is that ONLY the evidence and testimony presented in court is to be used for determining the outcome.

[@texasangel20]

@@pmonk1487 You're correct, but the problem with that is the assumption that both lawyers are fair and equally qualified. As a Juror, you can consider anything you want, it's your vote.

[@greggweber9967]

Did anyone apply power to the brake light and see what it did? If it flashes and burns out, then it was turned off when the glass was broken during the accident. That's assuming nobody tried to test it before now. If it stays off, then the filament was open, and it probably was off during the accident. If it turns on, then it could have been off or on, and the glass undamaged. There are other possibilities.

[@changbinhyung6788]

did anyone notice the sudden tie change

[@rebekahk3854]

Made me look😂 Changed to purple tie at 4:08 and green tie at 4:14. Good eye!

[@fynnkessels2488]

Do judges ask the potential jurors for reasons why they believe they are unqualified? I think I’ve seen that in movies.

[@JoelReid]

yes. jurors may claim that they know someone involved in the case. For example, if a juror knows one of the witnesses, or the defendant themselves, then they may excuse (in fact are expected to excuse) themselves.

[@Antody]

❤

[@dodgeman4360]

Hey I appreciate the long form Mike keep up with it interesting thing I saw your video where you're talking about the money and I noticed your clean shaving is that what you go into the court looking like or do you have the beard and mustache.... Because honestly you look like a 25-year-old at that point...😅😅😅😅

[@SheFlungDung]

LOL the heartbreak of being a Jets fan!

[@OreoThePanda]

Unrelated but would you ever consider doing a video from a lawyer standpoint on the Mcdonald's lady case, like most people in the modern day now know that it wasn't that she was asking for millions of dollars because she spilled coffee while she was driving, but like I'd like to hear a lawyers side maybe even from both sides of things

[@phuncc]

longform banger #shunnarahswag

[@mythicgamer6291]

I did jury duty twice

[@HollaPark]

Hello my name is Jury Selection lol

[@number1paintfan]

I love just duty so much, it's a shame I wasn't selected but I figured as much with how I answered a question lol

[@jklm011]

What would happen if a jury person wants to avoid jury duty, and lies to you about these questions (they figure out what you don't want to hear), is that a get out of jury duty free card?

[@djsdjsjdjshjwbdnskdk]

Okay, that’s it, I’m done with you. Choosing Coca-Cola should be a federal crime. In fact, there ought to be international treaties favoring Pepsi. Especially Mountain Dew, part of the Pepsi family!

[@CobisTaba]

Nah he’s right and you are wrong ;)

[@heinen345]

​@@CobisTaba NUH uh

[@philipbuckley759]

I got on jury duty by acting ignorant or stupid.....er....you are in.....

[@johnmizanin3550]

You made yourself a blank slate and possibly looked easily impressionable. If we (lawyers) think we can make you think our way, or that a charismatic fellow juror we believe thinks our way can sway you, then you stay. You're a safer bet than those who have opinions or preconceived ideas we have to battle.

[@phren716]

I've never been called for jury duty in the 10+ years I've been over 18 years of age. I'd actually like to be involved in the justice system, but nothing. 😢

[@JoelReid]

i wasn't selected till i was 42 despite being eligible from 18. i have also known a student of mine get selected within 6 months of turning 18. Even when selected (twice in a year) i was dismissed both times. It is random. You may never be selected, or you may be selected tomorrow.

[@urabozomcgeee]

1:20 A

[@Thoringer]

Paper is the right choice: Writing down the name gives you more haptic memory pathways than clicking it into a text field on your laptop. It's great for memorization. Don't believe me? Create 10 random work flashcards in Word and 10 in handwriting and see what you remember more.

[@TheRenegade...]

Tablets also allow handwriting input

[@theunexploredperspective]

What happens when you're called and intentionally show bias in every case, does it mean you will never hear a case?

[@PeacefulChaoticGoddess]

You explain to the jury what fair compensation would be for them if they are in the same position as the person?

[@CasualLynx420]

Hey Mike, possibly a stupid question but it matters to me; do those Jury info sheets also have a spot for the Jurors title (the Mr/Mrs/Mx/Ms field) and/or pronouns? Asking since the wrong title will dissociate me /hard/ and, where you want to connect with the individual, it matters to me. I'd almost prefer to be numbered because that's my role in the system. To be an interchangeable cog, nameless and faceless. Still desperately wanting to feel what the process is like firsthand Dx

[@AnAZPatriot]

If you have a problem with who you are already, you're already going to be struck...by BOTH sides.

[@goaliedude32]

life gets better when you learn not to care. i would suggest Buddhism

[@KR4Z3D666]

oh no, not your pronoun...

[@rahulmerugu3620]

As a guy from a country that doesn't have the jury system, I feel that people don't hate the duty itself, they hate the bureaucracy and the ungodly timings for trials. But I'm not certain

[@JoelReid]

having watched people selected, the people who dislike it are usually unhappy because they have pre-booked events in their lives that are otherwise not important. Most people seem fine as long as their usual income is secure and their responsibilities are covered. usually jury income is covered by the government and people with extreme commitments (eg. emergency workers or people who can not cover childcare) are excused.

[@petridish3045]

The court official clears the potential jurors by saying “everyone step out”?? How about PLEASE. Show a little respect for these people that you are inconveniencing.

[@MikeMenoIsAwake]

I'm not going. If they come after me I'll dress up like a clown so they don't recognize me.

[@patricial.6758]

Rafi? Turkish name spelling origin?

[@ahtheh]

man has 264k subs and 5k views in 17 hours, makes you wonder (about the algorithm)

[@HollaPark]

He always does shorts, it's probably the algorithm

[@joshuaswart8211]

Not really. He’s primarily a short form content creator. Most people who watch shorts aren’t going to watch a full-length video.

[@ahtheh]

I mean, wonder about the algorithm​@@joshuaswart8211

[@CommentsAllowed]

Are you related to @Officialjadenwilliams?

[@MrJchmmm]

First!

[@PeacefulChaoticGoddess]

Wait, can we compensate people for time lost at work for jury attendance? If we are selecting jury?? What are the special rules about jury selection if a person doesn't have many "peers" in the realms of trauma experience?

[@kaddieization]

Where I am we get 10 whole dollars for a day in jury duty 😂

[@DotWarner-v9t]

What happens when a bunch of people try CLAIMING to be my peers but cannot fathom being my peer? Like people with substance abuse disorder and people who lost their parenting rights for a legal reason that wasn't a violation of U.S.C. 18§1513. Because today I was VERY VERY insulted by the staff trying to claim to be my peers, who continually insisted they knew how it felt to be me because they'd all assumed I'd had substance use disorder of some type at some point and it's just.... Absolutely offensive to have people so eagerly lie to me about the hardships they never faced to make me feel like I'm not alone. And every single time they tried claiming to know what it's like to go through what I did, their claims weren't the same experience I had at all. AT ALL. I never had my parenting rights severed, I never had a substance use disorder of any type, I had tons of surgeries and never liked pills.

[@LBrisk01]

Sir, this is a Wendy's

[@as23535]

That’s not the type of peers we’re talking about. It generally means people from your community. Fellow citizens. Not people who have gone through everything you have gone through.

[@SilveryFlame]

Yea, if "your peers" had to be exact copies of you, 1) there could never be a jury 2) nobody would ever be convicted