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You know how ridiculous that is. If I am in the hospital that’s not willing. Jury duty is not an emergency. I have been called every three years like clockwork since I turned 18. I have always been happy to serve, with the exception of one time when my children were very young and I couldn’t afford childcare.
It’s your civic duty, unless it’s a hardship. Even the courts tell you that if the trial is going to last long.
I thought you said the judge you requested exempt you on the basis of not being able to afford childcare told you no. Obviously, she didn't agree with you that it was ridiculous.
Did you end up serving and figure out a way to have your children cared for without going hungry or homeless? How did that end up?
Look, whether it's fair or not, stay at home parents can and do get excused from jury duty. There are some stay at home parents who do volunteer for jury duty though, even if it means putting their kids in daycare. But I can't blame a parent for not wanting to put their newborn baby into a daycare situation for something like jury duty.
Its not about fairness. If they are allowed to be exempted for child care or any other reason in a given state, that's fine.
I'm guessing this is not an allowed exemption in this county or she wouldn't have been seated on the jury.
As I sat there and could overhear people coming in and going through the check-in process, I realized many people do not follow simple directions. There were people who took the time to come in who could have simply have checked the exemption box and have avoided the whole mess.
I was called for trial jury back in October. Before they started the actual selection/vetting process, they read off to us the details of the case. It was a rape case where the victim had been held and raped at knifepoint in the apartment of the rapist. It was after they did that that they asked who wanted to be excused from selection (like maybe they were a rape victim themselves). We were all seated in the back of the courtroom and couldn't hear what anyone said to the judge.
It's about how the judge treated her in the process. [...]
There is no excuse for the judge's rudeness toward her.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheShadow
I don't think judges are in court to be polite and caring to the hundreds of jurors they have to interview to get a jury seated.
A lot of people are idiots with no notion of courtroom etiquette and protocol. When I was called for federal jury service, during voir dire one of the candidates just got up and headed out of the room because she had to go to the bathroom. Neither young nor particularly stupid-looking, just clueless.
I'm sure judges get tired of it, as tired as of the Law & Order experts.
This woman had plenty of opportunities to opt out or discuss the matter before things reached this point, but her Ph.D. program apparently didn't include enough common sense or literacy classes.
I was called last year and after maybe 3 hours of all of us waiting, the judge came out and excused all of us. SHe apologise for taking important time out of our lives and appreciated us being there.
I was called for trial jury back in October. Before they started the actual selection/vetting process, they read off to us the details of the case. It was a rape case where the victim had been held and raped at knifepoint in the apartment of the rapist. It was after they did that that they asked who wanted to be excused from selection (like maybe they were a rape victim themselves). We were all seated in the back of the courtroom and couldn't hear what anyone said to the judge.
This was before the judge. It was at check-in where you hand them your piece of paper with your name and bar code. People were asking for exemptions at that time. I guess it was a bailiff who told us during instructions that we could ask for additional exemptions from the judge, but just meant we had to come back in 60-90 days? Why waste another day coming back? Fill out the paper in advance and take your exemption then if allowed. Call or email in to ask for a postponement if the original assigned day doesn't work. I only knew what the guy beside me had because he asked a question while we were seated.
I was always able to opt out by checking a box on the form stating I was the sole caretaker of another person, but that varies from place to place.
I get called every year, as do most people in my area. That's just how our system works because I think something like 70% of people summoned just ignore it and fail to appear. Officials resist imposing any consequences because of the high number of poor minority people in a the area and they don't want to burden them with fines and bench warrants. The other 30% can set our watch to our jury summons each year.
I was going to say, I've never heard of anyone getting slammed who just tossed out the summons and didn't show. But once you do show you are in the judge's immediate reach and subject to his will.
And I just read that the database is compiled of both. Wouldn’t that still result in a lack of representation from more marginalized populations (socio-economic status)? Given the statistical evidence that a large % of defendants also come from marginalized populations; are they really receiving a trial by a jury of their peers?
They also use the post office "change of address" database. If you submit one of those cards to get your mail forwarded when you move, then you're on the list too. Seems like I always got a summons within a few months of moving.
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Jury duty is not an emergency. I have been called every three years like clockwork since I turned 18. I have always been happy to serve, with the exception of one time when my children were very young and I couldn’t afford childcare. 
