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Old 10-09-2008, 06:30 AM
 
Location: NW Arkansas
304 posts, read 1,430,428 times
Reputation: 156

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lizzy5 View Post
I am a stay at home mom and just got a notice to report for jury duty. Will I be excused for being a stay at home?
Under GA state law (from Cobb County Government's website):

"Under Georgia State Law, exemptions are granted to the following properly documented persons:......

Any person who is a primary caregiver having active care and custody of a child six years of age or under who has no alternative child care available must sign an affidavit available online at sca.cobbcountyga.gov/juror_forms.htm.This must be submitted at least two weeks prior to jury date."

Cobb County Government

Now I don't know whether a stay at home parent is considered eligible if there is another parent available, or if this is intended for single parents. You should call your local county court and verify this with them.

 
Old 10-09-2008, 06:48 AM
 
Location: Odessa, FL
2,218 posts, read 4,370,251 times
Reputation: 2942
I can't speak for other counties, but in Fulton if you are the primary caregiver for a child under 6 years old you can get an exemption from jury duty until such time as your youngest turns 6. I did this two years ago when I was called for jury duty. We have a daughter that was 3 at the time, my wife works full time and I am the "stay-at-home-dad". Directions to apply for the exemption were on the back of the summons and I believe it required a notarized letter.

Bill

Last edited by billl; 10-09-2008 at 07:49 AM.. Reason: spelling
 
Old 10-09-2008, 07:44 AM
 
Location: Atlanta, GA (Dunwoody)
2,047 posts, read 4,619,137 times
Reputation: 981
And Neil, if you don't have friends or relatives? I don't know a living soul here and certainly have no relatives here. I don't know about Atlanta, but babysitters typically run $10 an hour. I have no employer to reimburse me for my lost time on jury duty as most people have. So, I would have to pay that $80 to a babysitter and have no way to recoup that money. If my husband takes time off work for my jury duty, he doesn't get paid either. So we would lose out doubly. That's not inconvenience, that's economic stupidity.

It's not a matter of inconvenience, you just simply have no one to leave a small child with. Most daycare centers that have drop off service charge exorbitant rates and you have to sign up weeks or months in advance.

I would love to serve jury duty, but given these economic times, I'm not willing to go hundreds of dollars in the hole to do so.
 
Old 10-09-2008, 08:21 AM
 
Location: East Cobb
2,206 posts, read 6,890,085 times
Reputation: 924
Quote:
Originally Posted by RoslynHolcomb View Post
And Neil, if you don't have friends or relatives?
I agree. While we have had plenty of lasting friends in several other places we've lived, we just haven't made real friendships here. It's one of the reasons we're planning to move on, when we can.

Meanwhile, I leave the spaces for other emergency contacts blank, on our child's school registration forms every year. She has two parents and we both have cell phones. In an emergency, the school will just have to make do with contacting one of us. I'm not about to bang on the doors of the neighbors whose names I barely know, and invite them to take responsibility for my child!

A family like ours, if the child(ren) were young, would really be put in a fix by a jury summons. I sympathize.
 
Old 10-09-2008, 12:19 PM
JPD
 
12,138 posts, read 18,290,449 times
Reputation: 8004
One nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all, but not if it means I have to hire a babysitter.

Sorry, but having children is a choice, and it does not relieve us of the responsibilities we ALL must share in order to live up the ideals that supposedly define us as a nation.
 
Old 10-09-2008, 01:24 PM
 
Location: Atlanta, GA (Dunwoody)
2,047 posts, read 4,619,137 times
Reputation: 981
JPD, has it ever occurred to you that perhaps the reason some people are SAHM is because they CAN'T AFFORD to hire a babysitter?

ADDED: Sorry Roslyn - the system is acting hokey tonight - some of your post may have been deleted in an attempt to respond to it, so please repost and I can copy/paste it back in here if you like.

Last edited by atlantagreg30127; 10-09-2008 at 08:58 PM..
 
Old 10-09-2008, 01:25 PM
JPD
 
12,138 posts, read 18,290,449 times
Reputation: 8004
Quote:
Originally Posted by RoslynHolcomb View Post
JPD, has it ever occurred to you that perhaps the reason some people are SAHM is because they CAN'T AFFORD to hire a babysitter? I swear to God the mindset in this town that everybody is rolling in dough is seriously going to make me take hostages. If I had to come out of my pocket with $80 for a sitter right now that would mean a bill wouldn't get paid this month. Now, which bill should that be? Electrical? Gas?

Gas would be my pick, but in my case I have electric cooking appliances. Also, I have made an effort to get to know my neighbors and develop friendships with people who live nearby. If I had kids, I would trust them to watch my kids while I went to jury duty. Why don't you know your neighbors? Do your kids not have any friends with trustworthy parents?

I've had my share of financial trouble in my life, so I sympathise with your money situation, but you seem totally helpless in this situation, and I just don't get it.

Last edited by JPD; 10-09-2008 at 01:38 PM..
 
Old 10-09-2008, 01:49 PM
 
Location: Marietta, GA
7,887 posts, read 17,187,870 times
Reputation: 3706
Quote:
Originally Posted by RoslynHolcomb View Post
And Neil, if you don't have friends or relatives?
Well I guess it's academic, at least in Cobb County.
 
Old 10-09-2008, 01:55 PM
 
Location: Atlanta, GA (Dunwoody)
2,047 posts, read 4,619,137 times
Reputation: 981
I just moved here, but even if I knew my neighbors well I doubt I would be willing to leave my child with them, especially for an indefinite period. Back when I lived in Huntsville I had friends/relatives and knew my neighbors well, but again, I was the only SAHM on the block. I can't imagine asking people to take off work to watch my child while I serve jury duty. I was the one who kept everyone else's kids when daycare fell through, or the kids were too sick to go to daycare or school, but the parent couldn't take off work.

All my neighbors that I've met thus far work outside the home. My son is only four years old, so no, he doesn't have any friends outside organized activities.

And no, I don't get what you mean about being helpless in this situation. I have no family here, and no close friends. Why would that be surprising or indicative of helplessness? Given the number of transplants in this town I would think that such a thing would be commonplace.

Quote:
Originally Posted by JPD View Post
Gas would be my pick, but in my case I have electric cooking appliances. Also, I have made an effort to get to know my neighbors and develop friendships with people who live nearby. If I had kids, I would trust them to watch my kids while I went to jury duty. Why don't you know your neighbors? Do your kids not have any friends with trustworthy parents?

I've had my share of financial trouble in my life, so I sympathise with your money situation, but you seem totally helpless in this situation, and I just don't get it.
 
Old 10-09-2008, 02:11 PM
JPD
 
12,138 posts, read 18,290,449 times
Reputation: 8004
Quote:
Originally Posted by RoslynHolcomb View Post

And no, I don't get what you mean about being helpless in this situation. I have no family here, and no close friends. Why would that be surprising or indicative of helplessness?
I don't mean "helpless" as an insult. I just mean that you're over a barrell. You're either at the mercy of the court for an excused absence/deferral, or you're at the mercy of whichever utility company you don't pay as a result of having to hire a babysitter. That's a very tough situation. In one scenario, you have no control. In the other, you have a little control, but then you risk having your power shut off for non-payment.

The good news is, one could probably get out of jury duty, or at least have it postponed, in such a situation. Did the OP ever say what county she lives in?
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