Being excused from Jury duty?

[kinntj]

Has anyone here been excused from Jury duty before your summons date?

I just sent in an excuse letter that I care for my mom 24/7 due to her illness and finances. I'm picking up her Dr.'s letter now supporting my claim/statement. I'm just wondering...

This is for Federal court. I know I can be excused once called into the courtroom, but wanted to avoid that.

 

[momof1princess]

i have been excused from jury duty before my summons date once in the past, but it was local circuit court, not federal court. i was excused because i worked in a local attorney's office, and we had cases on that particular docket, so it was considered a conflict of interest. i also got my DH excused a few years earlier because i wasn't working at the time, and jury duty for him would have been a severe financial strain for us (he did serve jury duty a few years later).
i would think being a parent's full-time caretaker would be a valid excuse for getting excused from jury duty, whether it be federal or local. good luck

 

[Pakey]

I got excused ahead of time due to ongoing chemotherapy treatments. I sent doctor's letter in when I got notice that I would be called for jury duty.

 

[livie1205]

always excused here dh is a cop! lol

 

[Micca]

I've seen people try to get out of jury duty and the judge wasn't very lenient.
However your situation would seems like a legitimate reason to be excused.
Good luck with that and your mother.

 

[Traveliz]

Where I live being the primary caretaker for little ones or elderly ones will get you excused in advance.

Liz

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

Long long ago (okay we aren't that old), DH was excused for being the caretaker of the family, fast-forward to recent times, I am disabled, and just send a fax from the Dr. and am excused every time.

 

[jenlynn0808]

I got excused ahead of time once, when DS4 (2 at the time) was in a spica cast-he needed fulltime care. I sent in the paperwork and was excused.

 

[Disnydad]

always excused here dh is a cop! lol

Not an excuse here anymore. I got called for county grand jury duty a few years ago. When they asked if anyone was a police officer, retired police officer, or any immediate family of one. I raised my hand and told him I was retired. The DA's reply? "Good, you'll be the Foreman". It was an interesting 3 months.

Not sure how the Federal system works though.

 

[kinntj]

Well, I picked up the letter from her Dr.'s office and will send it out with my letter.

I was talking to a neighbor about our situation and she said her mom didn't want to serve. Her number was called in court and she told them that she was prejudiced, even though she's really not just to get out of it. My neighbor said that sounds really bad, but she didn't want to do it.
The only thing I could think of to say, well I'm sure that person being tried wouldn't want her on their jury anyway considering she would do anything to get out of there. I just thought to myself, that her mom better hope she doesn't ever need a jury herself and the people that are on her jury truly want to be there to hear the facts. It just made me sad. I mean, most people don't like to have their hectic lives interrupted for jury duty, I get that...but to lie...just sad.

I'm not trying to get out of it, I'm not lying... I have served jury duty at the Detroit Federal courts before, so I've proven to want to be part of the system. I won't always be a caregiver to my mom as her health declines, but that's a whole other set of problems in itself. I'm sure I'll be picked again and will go.

Thank you for your good luck! My mom wishes she would have the problems of going to jury duty. She would pick that any day.

 

[antmaril]

I was excused twice when my husband was dying of cancer.

 

[livie1205]

Not an excuse here anymore. I got called for county grand jury duty a few years ago. When they asked if anyone was a police officer, retired police officer, or any immediate family of one. I raised my hand and told him I was retired. The DA's reply? "Good, you'll be the Foreman". It was an interesting 3 months.

Not sure how the Federal system works though.

here they will not let you...

 

[kinntj]

I was excused twice when my husband was dying of cancer.

I'm so sorry. There's almost no reason that would mean more.

 

[kydisneyfans]

I have gotten out twice, once was my first week of college out of town, the other was a prepaid trip to Disney. All I had to do was fax the paperwork and a copy of the receipt and I was put back into the pool never to be called again.

 

[kinntj]

here they will not let you...

I would think cops retired or active would be excused. Kind of comes with the job. If was ever up for trial...I don't know how I'd feel with a cop/ex cop on my jury. hmmm...

When I was called up for my first Federal court, it was a trial for a bank robbery. They excused anyone who worked for a bank. go figure.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

I got excused twice for needing to care for my son who has mild autism. The last time I sent in the form with that excuse, they wrote back saying I would have to report anyway and explain my excuse to the judge. The judge never asked for hardships and said if you have one, you could explain it when your number was called. It turned out the only witnesses in the case were 5 police officers and as soon as I said my dad was a retired officer, I was dismissed. I ended up sitting there until 2:00 p.m. and never even brought up my son because I knew they wouldn't keep me because of my dad.

 

[Pinkpony]

Has anyone here been excused from Jury duty before your summons date?

I just sent in an excuse letter that I care for my mom 24/7 due to her illness and finances. I'm picking up her Dr.'s letter now supporting my claim/statement. I'm just wondering...

This is for Federal court. I know I can be excused once called into the courtroom, but wanted to avoid that.

I work for a federal court. It's possible that you can be excused beforehand, but it's not a given, even with a doctor's note. I do think it sounds like you'll have a good chance of being excused beforehand, so good luck with that. And if not beforehand, like you said, just bring it up to the judge's attention on the first day and they are usually quite accommodating in circumstances like that.

BTW, we have had several cops serve on our juries, along with attorneys, paralegals, prison guards, etc.

Good luck!

 

[LisaR]

Well, I picked up the letter from her Dr.'s office and will send it out with my letter.

I was talking to a neighbor about our situation and she said her mom didn't want to serve. Her number was called in court and she told them that she was prejudiced, even though she's really not just to get out of it. My neighbor said that sounds really bad, but she didn't want to do it.
The only thing I could think of to say, well I'm sure that person being tried wouldn't want her on their jury anyway considering she would do anything to get out of there. I just thought to myself, that her mom better hope she doesn't ever need a jury herself and the people that are on her jury truly want to be there to hear the facts. It just made me sad. I mean, most people don't like to have their hectic lives interrupted for jury duty, I get that...but to lie...just sad.

The last time I was on jury duty, there was a guy that made it very obvious that he didn't want to be there. He was basically a jerk and said things to get out of being on a jury. Obviously, he was not going to be picked by either attorney but instead of dismissing him, the judge made him go sit off to the side by himself. It took three full days to pick that jury and every night when we were dismissed, the guy asked if he needed to return. He certainly did, according to the judge. He made him sit by himself the entire time. It was perfect.

Good luck to you OP. You have a very good reason for not serving.

 

[FoundMyPrince]

I was excused when on bed-rest with our third child.

 

[kinntj]

I work for a federal court. It's possible that you can be excused beforehand, but it's not a given, even with a doctor's note. I do think it sounds like you'll have a good chance of being excused beforehand, so good luck with that. And if not beforehand, like you said, just bring it up to the judge's attention on the first day and they are usually quite accommodating in circumstances like that.

BTW, we have had several cops serve on our juries, along with attorneys, paralegals, prison guards, etc.

Good luck!

Thanks for your feedback. They make it clear that the Judge will read all excuse letters and decide. Support letters from Dr.'s help, but are not guaranteed to be approved by the Judge. I'll send it in and wait for the first class letter with the decision.