Random Jury Duty Question :S

[LisaR]

The judge I work for always tells the jury pool the story of William Penn and the important role he played in establishing trials by "a jury of your peers." It's very moving and emphasizes the importance that jury trials play in our system of justice. He also mentions that, next to serving in the military, jury service is the most important duty you can serve for your country.

Needless to say, we RARELY have jurors try to get out of service after his address.

I have served three times in the six years I have lived in my current city. There is a judge that addressed the entire pool two of those times. He tells two stories.

In the first one, he talks about what people in his native country do in order to serve on a jury. For the life of me, I can't remember where he is from but I am thinking it is Indonesia. Anyway, he talks about the all day walk some of the people make just to be able to serve and how they sit in jury rooms without AC or running water. While it sounds a little like the stories our parents told us about walking uphill in 3 feet of snow without shoes to get to school, it truly is the way things are done in some countries. I find it to be very moving.

His second story is about our judicial system and how it isn't perfect. He praises law enforcement but flat out admits that mistakes are made. He asks the question, "if you or you loved one was arrested by an officer that wasn't on the up and up, who would you want on your jury? Only the retirees that have spare time? How about a jury made up of only the unemployed? Are those really the only people you want hearing your case?" He goes into great detail about a particular case and how the officer was flat out wrong. It really is a great story and certainly makes people think.

Personally, I love serving so I don't need the pep talk but many of the people there are not quite as enthusiastic. I have to say, most of the people I have met that are not thrilled to be there end up coming out of it being happy that they were able to serve. It really is a pretty cool process.

 

[Handbag Lady]

Well, from working in the court system here, I can tell you that lack of childcare is not a given excuse. I have heard it given many, many times. I have heard judges explain that it would be next to impossible to seat juries if that automatically excused jurors.

I have NEVER seen someone pull a stunt like bringing their child when reporting for jury duty. In my experience, that's exactly how judges here would view someone doing so. You don't want to get on the wrong side of a judge who's in the mood to make a point. Even the balance of the day in lock-up is no place I'd ever care to be. Although if you had your child along, I'm sure the judge would be kind enough to let you report to lock-up the next day, sans child.

Judges take jury duty very seriously.

I had jury duty last month and a potential juror brought his daughter in. She looked about 3 years of age. Everyone could hear the conversation between the clerk and the father, because the clerk left his mic on. The father had called in several times to explain that he had no child care. He was a sahd and the wife worked and had no vacation or sick time to take.

He was dismissed and asked to report back another day, thus giving him more time to find a sitter. The thing is, it was very clear that the guy couldn't get a sitter and couldn't pay for it even if he did have someone.

I really don't know what he's going to do, but he did report in as instructed. My guess is that he'll do the same thing the next time.

 

[Liberty Belle]

Responses like this make me glad there is an "ignore" option on the Dis.

 

[Donnainnj]

I was called a few months ago for Grand Jury. Our Grand Jury serves once a week for 4 months. I may have been able to get a babysitter for a day, maybe two or three, but not once a week for 4 months. My son has only been watched by family and they are at school or work during the day. I wrote my excuse and waited for a response. When the day before my service date came and I was not notified I called, and luckily they said that I had been excused. I guess if they offered child care, and took him in diapers I would have gone but that would have been a very long day for an under 2 yr old (at the time) adding on the 45 minute drive each way.
Donna

 

[golfgal]

I never did any of this the first 4 years of my kids lives when I was consumed with taking care of them, so I guess I must be a terrible mom?!

You never took your kids out? Maybe that is why you were so consumed with taking care of them We went somewhere pretty much every day, library, park, zoo, mall, friends house, etc.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Having lived somewhere where i had no family or close friends, I can totally see this as a major problem. I would not under any circumstances leave my child in one of those drop in centers or with a neighbor I do not know well. I am sorry, but I just refuse to leave my child with strangers I know nothing about. If i didn't have a sitter I could trust I would not have gone. It is easy to say "just find someone" when it is not your child, but how many of us would actually leave our child with a complete stranger or near stranger for jury duty?

It's not as if you get notified to serve and then have to appear the next day, or even the next week. There is plenty of time to GET to know what child care options are available, especially if you're a stay at home parent. You can visit various drop-in centers, see what your church/place of worship offers, get references from other parents, find out if there are any professional/bonded sitter services in your area and meet (interview) some of the sitters...

 

[Mickey's Minion]

have you ever put in a request to be excused from jury duty because you did not have child care and it was denied....so you took your child up there with you? If so, what happened when you showed up with your kid?

If you did this, please tell me what state & district this was in.

Another state/district where pulling this kind of stunt could earn you a contempt of court citation and the judge finding you child care via child protective services as you cooled your heels in a cell. Judges aren't particularly fond of people who try to make a mockery of their court.

However, when you get your summons, you can call in to reschedule for a more suitable time. You can't get out of it, but you can to be reassigned to a future date in order to make arrangements. You will usually be called again 3 - 6 months.

 

[Mickey's Minion]

Having lived somewhere where i had no family or close friends, I can totally see this as a major problem. I would not under any circumstances leave my child in one of those drop in centers or with a neighbor I do not know well. I am sorry, but I just refuse to leave my child with strangers I know nothing about. If i didn't have a sitter I could trust I would not have gone. It is easy to say "just find someone" when it is not your child, but how many of us would actually leave our child with a complete stranger or near stranger for jury duty?

You do realize that a jury summons is a summons? You are obligated by law to show up if your requests to be excused are refused.

If you just don't go, a warrant could be issued for your arrest. What would you do with your child while you were being arrested?