Criminal Justice Center

Well Philly’s CJC is sufficient. It’s only 21 yrs old but already it looks like they’ve let some things go. What I mean is that some things are dorty or broken and it doesn’t look like those things are gonna be cleaned or repared anytime soon. But those things only effect the looks, not the function. The only negative things are the way the criminals act (big surprise) and how a good ammount of the guards act. This is common of a lot of city employees in a lot of cities I’m sure.

Strange place to review, This was my 2^nd time being chosen as juror # 14(2^nd alternate). You sit thru the entire trial, and are dismissed prior to deliberations, as long as 12 jurors remain. I came close this time (one juror was ill, another showed up 30 min late on day of closing arguments). For this you get paid $ 9 per day; then $ 25 after 3 days. This trial lasted 4 days.
This building is much nicer than City Hall, where I was 1^st time. A lot cleaner, bathrooms as well. The staff in & out of the courtroom were friendly, courteous, and helpful. Judge Mcdermott (who deserves a review of her own) was firm, but fair, and has a very interesting not so private life. ON the day of deliberations she bought everyone lunch (sequestering them).Figures I had to leave before that. Oh well.

Most city workers and police officers in this criminal justice building come off as rude and unapologetic for their behavior! I hate coming here!

Hilarious all the Jury Duty reviews. A few witnesses. Apparently defendants don’t use Unilocal?
Did you have experiences in other courthouses with which to compare?
Why is it called «Criminal Justice»? If you are accused of a crime, this doesn’t sound very fair — going to court to get my criminal justice? What happened to «presumed innocent until proven guilty»? Who would name a courthouse this? Had to be the prosecutors. Just a few thoughts outside of your usual sphere. Enjoy!

This place sucks. I’m stuck here serving on a jury for over a week, so I am intimately familiar with the shortcoming of this shit hole. I get the whole civic duty crap, but it shouldn’t be an exorbitant expense for the people who serve. I’m talking, of course, about $ 29 parking. Once upon a time the CJC offered a parking discount, but those days have gone the way of the buffalo. As have the free coffee and bagels they used to offer. So for my measly little $ 9 check, I have to buy lunch at reading terminal market (about $ 12) and $ 29 to park. This is some bullshit.
Oh, and my first day of jury selection, I was there till 3:45pm with no lunch break. I found out later, however, that the judge took a break and left us all waiting. Da fuq.
I can’t get the wifi to work either. Next time I get a jury duty summons in the mail it’s going right in the trash. Bench warrant or not.

What is there to say… the building is clean, the staff is alright, and they do allow cell phones.
I’ve never experienced jury duty yet despite being a registered voter. I only have two complaints… waiting around for hours for trials to start and their slow-​ass elevators.
Otherwise, court is court and I’m sure this isn’t the worst to come to by far.

There’s not much to say about a courthouse where you do jury duty. The people were nice overall. They understand that you’re taking off work to do your civil service, and it’s a pain in the butt. Twice I have been called. Actually, for the second time, the Justice Center has improved their services and the quality of people overall, including their security guards. They are much more amicable the second time around.
Of course, the soda vending machines were mostly empty, and the coffee machine inside the jury waiting room was broken. However, there’s 7 – 11 and Dunkin’ Donuts nearby for coffee.
Bring a book, Kindle or something.

Hmm. Who reviews the justice building? Lol. I been here a few times for jury duty. The seats are semi comfy. Free wifi is a plus since they allow cell phones now. The waiting for selection takes way too long. Security scan before you enter is pretty through and good.
Getting into the courtroom for process of elimination is not bad. Just the wait time is a bummer. Once all is done, things move by pretty quickly.
Wish the city paid us more for jury duty. Wish parking was validated or free. The minus 1 star is for paying below minimum wage for a day. Other then that I usually serve everytime I get called for jury duty. Serving my city with the upmost fairness and justice.

I am a witness in a criminal trial. Been here more than I can count. Assistants District Attorneys are great. Elevators suck.Sheriffs at entrance some are ok, Few are really rude. WE ARE NOT ALL THERE FOR COMMITING A CRIME

So if you’re here, its likely because you’re either serving jury duty, or attending/​involved with some sort of trial. Therefore, this place is pretty full of people who clearly aren’t pleased to be there. That being said though, the building is GORGEOUS! High cielings, fab architecture inside and out… The staff working to get you in the door herds you around and could use some improvement on their customer service, but to their credit, they don’t know if you are convicted of raping someone, or if you’re serving jury duty.
I had jury duty here a few weeks ago. The room where they put is us large, well lit, the woman running the show is a MACHINE, and you get 10% off at Reading Terminal Market for lunch, which never hurts.
They do their best to make something awful into a palatable expereince. I appreciated that.

Jury duty isn’t usually a pain as it was this time. Going through the scanner means taking out all your coins, taking off your belt, watch, jewelry, keys etc. Filling out paperwork and getting sent to a jury room only to sit there ALL DAY with an hour for lunch. I think they forgot about us. $ 9.00 for your service. See ya next year, I’m sure!
P. S. Get something to eat before you get there. Vending machines are costly and take public transportation since parking is a ripoff!

Jury Duty sucks for everyone involved. The staff try to make it a little better, but aren’t boiling with enthusiasm either. The building is old and kept to minimum standards. The systems are outdated — you still complete multiple-​form paperwork for processing. Make your appearance and hope you don’t get picked. Remember, you only have to go once a year (even if they send you a request earlier) and if you serve on a case for more than 3 days, you don’t need to go back for 3 years!

For the record I was here for Jury Duty! The staff is as friendly as one would expect and the building definitely has a government institutional feel to it. What surprised me are the illegal acts that go on in the Justice Center. Almost every bathroom I visited was littered with graffiti which is illegal and smelled horrible which should be illegal. I think that they should have the prisoners clean and maintain the bathrooms… maybe then the word will get out to keep your pen in your pocket and aim your junk!

Well that was surprisingly quick.

Here with my boy, snappy for a criminal trail against some shitbag my owner wanted to hire as a cook. We have been here since 10. It sucks. I can’t wait to see his stupid face and watch him go to jail. There are some scummy defendants here. Snappy just got gum on his pants from some asshole who stuck it under the bench! Who does that? Scumbags do. Hopefully I will never be back. Goodbye.

Have been here for Jury Duty 4 times now. What can I say… its your civic duty so it really is «as good as it gets». The people who work there are personable and try to make it as painless as possible to serve. You’ll meet some interesting people, learn a little bit about the law, and the building/​court rooms/​hallways are pretty cool to check out.
Tips for jurors, you get 10% off at some local eateries with your yellow juror sticker, so check out the Reading Terminal Market down the street for lunch (Dinic’s Roast Pork is my personal favorite). As an update, you actually are allowed to bring your cellphones in now, just make sure to turn them off before going into an live court room. In case you haven’t been in a while, they no longer offer parking discounts — so unless you want to pay more than $ 20 to park, take public transportation if you can. Sadly, you still only get $ 9/​day for serving:(

The reviews above were accurate except for cell phones. Although the policy is to leave them at home, they are allowed to go through the x-​ray machine in a tray. Just turn them on silent in the juror room and off in a court room.
We had someones alarm clock go off, and the judge was not very happy. It’s common courtesy.

I was here, too, for jury duty. It was far from thrilling — bring a couple of book. You’ll have to surrender your Blackberry at the door.

My life is incredibly boring at this point, so I was almost excited to get called for jury duty. I was hoping to demonstrate the knowledge I have gleaned from many, many, many episodes of Law & Order, so I crossed my fingers for a criminal trial. But, alas, all my extensive tv studies were for nothing. I was pulled twice for a jury only to be ultimately rejected.
Please note that due to budget cuts there is no more free breakfast or coffee. So pick up something on your way in or you can buy snacks from the vending machines.
I was a little worried about getting some of the items I brought into the building, but they seem to be pretty lax when it comes to jurors. I think they’re just happy you actually showed up. Security didn’t bat an eye at my iPod, cell phone (remember to turn it off, not just have it on silent), or Nintendo DS. Just don’t bring any recording devices, cameras or glass bottles and you’re good.

If you ever have to either serve your civic duty or go here for another reason, you are in for a treat. Staff is helpful, and the ambiance is great. Relatively new interior for a civic building, the lighting is still in tact, and the décor is appropriately justice and urbanly themed.
If you’re there for jury duty, reduce your hassle and leave your cell phone at home that day, because if you bring it you’ll have to stand in 2 very long lines to enter: one for security and one to check the phone. If you like coffee, bring your own because while they will offer a nice spread of coffee, baked goods, and pretzels, the coffee isn’t worth the environmental impact of the styrofoam they serve it in.