Freaking out here....Jury duty

[ksjayhawkfan]

My DH had to go to jury duty yesterday. He was picked and they told them the trial could last at least 4-5 weeks before deliberations begin. We are supposed to leave in 6 weeks!! What the heck are we going to do now?

 

[TrickyFish]

Some states/districts allow you one deferal if you have a pre-planned event that may conflict with performance of jury duty. Your DH would have to contact the courts and enter in a formal letter of deferrance. He can only do this once though, so if it happens again he'd have no choice but to show up.

 

[LukenDC]

Did your husband explain that he had a vacation planned? Many courts will allow a postponement of jury duty for those with vacation plans. They will usually require proof, such as receipts for plane tickets or resort confirmations.

 

[cra-z-4-dizney]

I would too. Is there anyway to tell them you have vacation that is already paid for that cannot be postponed???? I am 27 y/o and have never been called for jury duty...(knock on wood). Good luck!!

 

[kjs1976]

My Dh is on call for jury duty during the time we have our trip planned. The first day he got his letter I did some checking. Foor our county we were to e-mail a certain person and then include our "conflict of dates" in the survey he sent back to the court house. On the web site it said most first deferments are granted. However, the lady we e-mailed said that he was not granted a deferment, but rather was blocked off during that time period. I even sent a copy of our pre-boarding passes that indicated the tickets were non-refundable and the dates. She was very nice with me over the phone when I called to doublce check with her. It is a county court and so she said that trials/jury selections start on Monday and the longest they last is through Friday. When I was called for JD we were let go three hours later because they had settled. She assured me we would be fine for our trip, but if he was called the week before, we could call and basically state our claim again.

Check the web site for this particular court and see what it says. Most of the checking up I did stated that most first deferrments are granted.

I'll be sending mucho pixie dust your way!!!!! Hopefully both our husbands will be spared until after our vacations!!!!

 

[Bev J]

He really should speak to someone before the trial starts, once started it will be very hard to get off. It would have been better if he had brought this up before the actual selection, so he may have to do it this time and hope the trial is done before your trip.

Last year we were going on a cruise and I got a summons for Jury duty, I wrote the court a letter and told them about the cruise -all paid for and included copies of our flights/cruise contract. No problem I was released.

Bev.

 

[ksjayhawkfan]

Well he would have brought it up, but the summons went to an address we lived at 4 years ago. Yes, we filled out the change of address cards but he never changed his voter registration. So they forms ended up arriving at his office on Friday afternoon and he had to report on Monday morning. So that was our fault, BUT it said nothing about how long the trial would last and he said they didnt give him the option when they were questioning him to give dates that would be a conflict. They asked if he had any physical imparments, if he knew the defendant,could he be impartial, etc.

It was after they were picked that they told them how long it would last. I called him and told him to contact whoever was in charge and find out if there was anything he could do. I will let you know what they say shen he calls back.

 

[mking624]

I would still let them know immediately. Obviously he now knows the dates and he needs to tell them. Any further postponement of them could risk them not releasing him from jury duty.

 

[civileng68]

You can always avoid being selected for a jury by when in the interview or selecting process just start shouting "he's guilty! he's guilty! he's guilty! and then start shouting "Free Willy! Free Willy! Free Willy!"

Something tells me you may not be picked, but you may be required to visit the hospital for evaluations.

 

[hlynn]

Oh I so hope he can get out of it. I hope he has a nicer judge and lawyers than I had. I told them I would like to be realesed during jury selection(before I was selected) because it was the first week of school and I babysit for 3 teachers children and have 3 of my own to worry about. I told them my 10 and 6 year old would be home alone after school and it would be awful for the teachers because their students would have subs the first week they basically told me to bad this is your civic duty. But I had already defered because of a vacation.

 

[DiznEeyore]

Oh I so hope he can get out of it. I hope he has a nicer judge and lawyers than I had. I told them I would like to be realesed during jury selection(before I was selected) because it was the first week of school and I babysit for 3 teachers children and have 3 of my own to worry about. I told them my 10 and 6 year old would be home alone after school and it would be awful for the teachers because their students would have subs the first week they basically told me to bad this is your civic duty. But I had already defered because of a vacation.

That's a bummer! Here in our area, if you're the primary caregiver for young children, you can be excused, no problem.

 

[nataliesdaddy]

My DH had to go to jury duty yesterday. He was picked and they told them the trial could last at least 4-5 weeks before deliberations begin. We are supposed to leave in 6 weeks!! What the heck are we going to do now?

depending on the package you booked - you can get a full refund 45 days out, then there is a 100 doolar penalty. a week or so prior to your reservation there is a 200 penalty... three days prior you lose the entire amount

 

[kilee]

Lot's of pixie dust. Keep us updated. I do think the sooner he takes action the best chance he has.

A lot of states are doing away w/ the primary caretaker for children scenario.

 

[civileng68]

they basically told me to bad this is your civic duty.

Think about how screwed up this is. While I understand where the govt is coming from...........if they didnt make people, nobody would do it and this country is built upon being judged by the people.

Well, think about it. We work hard for a living. We live our lives the right way and do what we are supposed to. However it's not bad enough that our taxes go to support these people in jail that don't live their lives right and dont want to work hard for a living, but then we have to leave our own jobs and lives to go sit and serve jury for these people.

 

[smjj]

Wy wife just got here letter a couple of weeks ago for juror duty. She called and explained we had a pre-planned and paid for vacation for the 3rd week of May and would lose our money and reservations. No problem. They stated they would not have her called for that one week period. I think they will not call you if you can prove finanical hardship. Losing two airfares and our 11 month reservation for 5 nights at OKW plus working out our vacations at work qualified us...smjj

 

[bopper]

I was selected for a trial and they asked right up front if people would have a problem with the dates. I and one of the alternates had a long weekend vacation scheduled about 4 weeks out, and this was expected to go 3 weeks. We ended up going all the way to my vacation...I was allowed to leave early on Friday and take off Monday (which happened to be Columbus Day anyway). The alternate had a cruise and she was just dismissed at that point (there were two other alternates).

Anyway, they always ask when you are being selected if you have a problem with the dates (I didn't even have to show proof) and they will either not select you or work around you.

 

[PratersloveDW]

Oh my gosh, that is terrible! Well lots of luck and be sure to keep us posted.

One question for any of experts... I know that airlines will refund all your money if you have a death in your family - and show proper documentation. And I know that jury duty is in no way similar to a death in your family; however, I would think that airlines would have some policy that allows a person to change their dates (without penalities) for a gov't stated duty. Does any such policy exsist? Or are you just at the mercy of the city???

 

[ksjayhawkfan]

Anyway, they always ask when you are being selected if you have a problem with the dates (I didn't even have to show proof) and they will either not select you or work around you.

They didn't ask. He would not have said no that he had no conflicts to a question like that. And he wouldn't have lied to me telling me they didn't if they did.


Anyway, it does't matter now. He called me back. It seems that there was a mistake in what they were told. The trial is to last 4-5 DAYS not weeks. They judge misspoke and no one caught it until several of them called and said there were conflicts. Thanks for the advice

 

[Tiger Fan]

Oh good news! Thanks for udating us.
Lisa
Tiger Fan

 

[PratersloveDW]

Anyway, it does't matter now. He called me back. It seems that there was a mistake in what they were told. The trial is to last 4-5 DAYS not weeks. They judge misspoke and no one caught it until several of them called and said there were conflicts. Thanks for the advice

What a relief...

Well I hope that you have a very magical vacation home then!!