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She has a responsibility to see that her kids are cared for. Their father can care for them, their grandparents, an aunt or uncle, a paid babysitter, daycare, etc.
Well la-de-dah. Must be nice to be so privileged. Not everyone can afford a babysitter, nor does everyone have reliable, trustworthy, and unemployed relatives who can watch their children.
I sometimes wonder what people do if they get picked for jury duty and can't pay their rent because they aren't getting paid while in jury duty? Seems like some could wind up homeless if they wind up on a very long jury trial.
No, that's not how it works.
I was on a murder trial in 1994 that was expected to last three weeks. It was one of the worst winters for snowstorms in years and because jurors couldn't get in from the rural areas until later in the day on a number of days, it stretched to six weeks.
During jury selection, the judge made it clear that he would need at least three weeks and when the numbers were pulled he would ask the juror if they would get paid for their time off. He said, "If it is a hardship on your company not to have you there, too bad. If it is a financial hardship on you because you won't be paid, you will be excused."
If people said they weren't sure if they would get paid, he had the bailiff call their employer and ask right then and there. A couple of people were unemployed and in the process of seeking jobs, and he excused them. A couple of people had plane tickets for a vacation coming up, and he excused them.
We're not in some bizarre movie world where you are being forced to serve as a juror to the point where you will end up destitute because you were called for jury duty. Not yet, anyway.
Different judges and different places act differently. I've been called for jury duty more times than I can count. One time my son was about 4 months old. He would absolutely not take a bottle. I tried it once. He sucked it down too fast and ended up projectile vomiting. No more bottles for the little smarty. It wasn't that I wasn't willing to give him one filled with breast milk. He simply would not take one after that for many months. The only person that could feed him was me. In my response I wrote this out and was excused.
Kind of like the above poster mentioned, one woman arrived at jury duty while her family was at home waiting to start their vacation that same day. The judge let her go. He made the guy that arrived late, in a beach outfit, probably with a hangover, stay all day.
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 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. They are there for the serious business of justice, and prospective jurors should act in a serious businesslike manner. That means reading your jury summons and following the instructions to be excused if your situation meets the criteria for being excused. Otherwise show up and be ready to serve. Expecting the world to bend to her self-imposed situation is unrealistic. Imagine if every SAHM expected to not do jury duty. We'd never be able to seat a jury except one made of primarily old people and men. The judge doesn't even have any way to know if she is a SAHM, or a homeschooler, and he doesn't have to. Being a SAHM, to the judge, is the same as having a job, it doesn't excuse you from jury duty. Expecting that nursing means that you aren't capable of being away from home for 8-9 hours a day is ridiculous on its face, since millions of women do it everyday all over the world. It sounds like something men in the 50's would say to keep women from working.
The judge wasn't being rude. He was being truthful. He doesn't care about her children. They aren't his concern. He is concerned about getting a fair trial for the accused, and meting out justice for the victims. She chose to have children. Good for her. Her children are no one else's concern. Not the judge's, or yours, or mine. She's chosen to home school them. Again her choice. She has a responsibility to see that her kids are cared for. Their father can care for them, their grandparents, an aunt or uncle, a paid babysitter, daycare, etc. Somehow millions and millions of nursing mothers have served jury duty, held down jobs, cared for elderly parents, done a multitude of things. Expecting her to do what everyone else manages to do in order to fulfill her civic duty is hardly something to start an internet campaign about.
Amen! The judge doesn't care about anyone else's snowflakes but their own.
If you don't want to show up for jury duty, if you have a legitimate reason, you apply to be excused as soon as you get the notice of being in the jury pool, not waiting till the jury is being selected for jury duty before the judge.
A judge crawls into bed with his wife and she exclaims, "Oh my God, your feet are so cold! They're freezing!"
He replies, "Dear, when we're in bed, you can address me as 'your honor.'"
I have had jury duty and I have been married to a trial lawyer and I'm here to tell you, too many attorneys and judges lack the most basic human compassion.
There are judges who really don't care how jury duty will impact your life.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mightyqueen801
No, that's not how it works.
I was on a murder trial in 1994 that was expected to last three weeks. It was one of the worst winters for snowstorms in years and because jurors couldn't get in from the rural areas until later in the day on a number of days, it stretched to six weeks.
During jury selection, the judge made it clear that he would need at least three weeks and when the numbers were pulled he would ask the juror if they would get paid for their time off. He said, "If it is a hardship on your company not to have you there, too bad. If it is a financial hardship on you because you won't be paid, you will be excused."
If people said they weren't sure if they would get paid, he had the bailiff call their employer and ask right then and there. A couple of people were unemployed and in the process of seeking jobs, and he excused them. A couple of people had plane tickets for a vacation coming up, and he excused them.
We're not in some bizarre movie world where you are being forced to serve as a juror to the point where you will end up destitute because you were called for jury duty. Not yet, anyway.
Last edited by RosemaryT; 12-09-2018 at 05:29 AM..
A judge crawls into bed with his wife and she exclaims, "Oh my God, your feet are so cold! They're freezing!"
He replies, "Dear, when we're in bed, you can address me as 'your honor.'"
I have had jury duty and I have been married to a trial lawyer and I'm here to tell you, too many attorneys and judges lack the most basic human compassion.
There are judges who really don't care how jury duty will impact your life.
I believe you. I have served on two trials,though, (murder and forgery) and both times the judges were sensible when it came to excuses jurors for whom serving would be onerous.
I personally don't get the lack of interest in serving. It is one of the most interesting things I've ever done.
While the murder story was a horror, sitting in that chair listening to the witnesses describe the events leading up to the killing as well as the murder itself was one of the most fascinating things I've ever done.
I think you all missed the point. It's not about her being excused or not. It's about how the judge treated her in the process.
"According to her Facebook post, Petrucelli told Pehl Evans and another woman who was also pregnant, “I don’t care about your children,” as well as, “Who is going to take care of your children when you get hit by a Mack truck” and, “I just don’t understand these people with no childcare.” Court documents support these claims, according to the Sacramento Bee."
“There were almost 300 people at the courthouse called to serve jury duty, and Judge James Petrucelli chose to berate two mothers of young children. In contrast the man in the room asking to get off the jury because he needed money from his job to support his family was not questioned. Judge Petrucelli simply nodded his head in agreement with him.”
There is no excuse for the judge's rudeness toward her.
Oh please. Whatever happened to the, "Ignore rude comments?" Grow up. If she can't deal with some jerk being rude and feeling offended, and the judge was a jerk, she sure as heck can't deal with being an SAHM to little kids. Instead she has to get her 15 minutes of fame and martydom and spread this nothing story all over the internet.
I sometimes wonder what people do if they get picked for jury duty and can't pay their rent because they aren't getting paid while in jury duty? Seems like some could wind up homeless if they wind up on a very long jury trial.
This is why showing proof of income and no paid days off is important, when you show up for jury duty. Sometimes just claiming that doesn't work. Because so many people have excuses. Usually, people who would lose vital income if chosen to serve, would be excused.
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