US District Court jury exemption
April 24, 2019 4:00 PM Subscribe
I received a summons for jury duty with he U. S. District Court in Rochester, NY and would like to be excused from it at this time as the primary live-in caregiver of my aging father. Can you help me make an effective request?
I am asking to be excused at this time rather than for a postponement because I cannot predict how and when my father's health and other considerations of aging will change. (Website asks that you provide alternative dates within 6 months if requesting postponement.)
Here are my reasons for the request. If there is a more effective way to make my case, or if there is something that might be pertinent that I haven't thought of, I would like to hear those suggestions.
I am the primary caregiver to a parent who is 95 years old and aging in place. We share a home.
I help directly with administration of medication twice daily, and prepare a pill box each week for medication taken while I am at work during the day, because he is unable to do these for himself due to failing memory and executive function.
I provide transportation and sit in on medical appointments; there are currently three of these appointments scheduled during the term of jury service, with a strong possibility that one of these doctors will add a follow-up visit during the time-frame, due to degeneration and medication adjustments.
I coordinate scheduling with a daytime care giver, and appointments and transportation for such as chiropractic and massage for my father.
Court is scheduled at 8:30 AM, with likely dismissal at 4:30 PM. My travel will be at least 2 hours each way, meaning minimum of 12 hours away from home/my father each day that I am called or serving on a jury – this is asking a lot of a primary care giver.
While my father is not suffering from an acute illness with a prognosis that suggests a specific limit on his time remaining, I see him declining and know that his time is limited, and that things could change drastically due to an accident in the home or an emerging health issue at any time. This takes an ongoing toll on me (stress and emotional), which I feel will be exacerbated by the stress of such long days away from home, especially if I were assigned to a jury trial lasting some days in a row.
I am trying to be objective and factual, even while mentioning the emotional component and stress. Having just received the summons today, I am feeling stress just thinking about the logistics of this if I am not excused.
Here are my reasons for the request. If there is a more effective way to make my case, or if there is something that might be pertinent that I haven't thought of, I would like to hear those suggestions.
I am the primary caregiver to a parent who is 95 years old and aging in place. We share a home.
I help directly with administration of medication twice daily, and prepare a pill box each week for medication taken while I am at work during the day, because he is unable to do these for himself due to failing memory and executive function.
I provide transportation and sit in on medical appointments; there are currently three of these appointments scheduled during the term of jury service, with a strong possibility that one of these doctors will add a follow-up visit during the time-frame, due to degeneration and medication adjustments.
I coordinate scheduling with a daytime care giver, and appointments and transportation for such as chiropractic and massage for my father.
Court is scheduled at 8:30 AM, with likely dismissal at 4:30 PM. My travel will be at least 2 hours each way, meaning minimum of 12 hours away from home/my father each day that I am called or serving on a jury – this is asking a lot of a primary care giver.
While my father is not suffering from an acute illness with a prognosis that suggests a specific limit on his time remaining, I see him declining and know that his time is limited, and that things could change drastically due to an accident in the home or an emerging health issue at any time. This takes an ongoing toll on me (stress and emotional), which I feel will be exacerbated by the stress of such long days away from home, especially if I were assigned to a jury trial lasting some days in a row.
I am trying to be objective and factual, even while mentioning the emotional component and stress. Having just received the summons today, I am feeling stress just thinking about the logistics of this if I am not excused.
Just say whatever you want on the form you send back. They are used to people not being eligible for jury duty. I have said I will be out of town for an extended amount of time and I can't do it. One time, honestly, I forgot to respond at all and nothing happened to me. I never got a follow-up and I never got in trouble. I wouldn't stress too much about this.
posted by AppleTurnover at 4:07 PM on April 24, 2019
posted by AppleTurnover at 4:07 PM on April 24, 2019
I was excused from a different U.S. district court because of a planned vacation, with no other extenuating circumstances. Just make sure you follow the rules in your letter about how to submit your request to be excused and you should be fine. You can also try calling the court (there should be a number for questions about this) and explaining that you wanted to get their take on what you should do—that would help with your stress.
posted by sallybrown at 4:43 PM on April 24, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by sallybrown at 4:43 PM on April 24, 2019 [2 favorites]
I am in a similar situation and this is what I do. The first 4 times I was called to jury duty I wrote really long explanations about why I can't and I didn't save them so I had to start over every time. I asked to be taken completely off the list. I was so stressed by this! Just thinking about it and I stressed the whole time waiting to get word back wondering if it would be approved.
Every time they sent a postcard back - you have been approved for jury duty but we have postponed it for one year.
I called them, etc. they just will not do anything but postpone it.
So this time all I did was write one sentence I can't serve jury duty my husband had a stroke and he is paralyzed on his left side. I am absolutely sure that all you need to say is "I am the primary caregiver for a 95 year old man". I did not say when I could serve because I can't! so I left that blank even tho they said I "have to" provide an alternate date.
My plan B is - if they insist I serve I am going to go in and talk to either a judge or the mayor of my city and give them what-for. My plan C is to go to my Dr. and have here get me excused because she knows this would literally kill me (the stress of trying to get someone else to care for him. that would be a nightmare of logistics).
So this time - with just that one sentence - they sent the postcard postponing it for a year. ANd now that I know they will accept a postponement with just a sentence - it is a lot less stressful for me. I really want to not be asked but I can accept a yearly postponement now that I know it is a sure thing.
It is very stressful to think they might arrest me. So I wouldn't want to listen to anyone who says "they won't bother with you. I just could not take that stress so I always fill out the form.
posted by cda at 5:14 PM on April 24, 2019 [2 favorites]
Every time they sent a postcard back - you have been approved for jury duty but we have postponed it for one year.
I called them, etc. they just will not do anything but postpone it.
So this time all I did was write one sentence I can't serve jury duty my husband had a stroke and he is paralyzed on his left side. I am absolutely sure that all you need to say is "I am the primary caregiver for a 95 year old man". I did not say when I could serve because I can't! so I left that blank even tho they said I "have to" provide an alternate date.
My plan B is - if they insist I serve I am going to go in and talk to either a judge or the mayor of my city and give them what-for. My plan C is to go to my Dr. and have here get me excused because she knows this would literally kill me (the stress of trying to get someone else to care for him. that would be a nightmare of logistics).
So this time - with just that one sentence - they sent the postcard postponing it for a year. ANd now that I know they will accept a postponement with just a sentence - it is a lot less stressful for me. I really want to not be asked but I can accept a yearly postponement now that I know it is a sure thing.
It is very stressful to think they might arrest me. So I wouldn't want to listen to anyone who says "they won't bother with you. I just could not take that stress so I always fill out the form.
posted by cda at 5:14 PM on April 24, 2019 [2 favorites]
This is a federal jury summons, do not ignore it, they will arrest you if you ignore them. your excuse is valid so just put N/A in the alternate date area
posted by patnok at 5:36 PM on April 24, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by patnok at 5:36 PM on April 24, 2019 [3 favorites]
Best answer: I understand why they seem important to you, but the judge doesn't really care about your feelings. Focus on the practical caregiving issues.
posted by praemunire at 5:45 PM on April 24, 2019
posted by praemunire at 5:45 PM on April 24, 2019
When I was in a similar situation (caregiving a teen age child with mental health issues) but a different court, i was not able to get out of it in advance. However, the rule was once you were called to come in, you only had to spend one day in the jury room unless you were selected for a trial. I went in with a letter from the doctor explaining why my child needed me. I got assigned to a trial but had to wait until I was chosen to be evaluated as a potential juror. At the appropriate time, I explained to judge why I needed to be excused and provided the letter. The judged consulted with the two attorneys and they quickly agreed to send me home. Nerve wracking but I was out of there before 2:00 pm which was the result I needed. So if you can't get out of it ahead of time, you have a second chance when being selected for a specific trial.
By the way, the other times I have been summoned for jury duty (It has happened a total of five times) I never even got close to being assigned to trial. (Twice just had to call in, once spend a day in the jury waiting room, once assigned a case that settled as we were waiting for the judge and lawyers to come in.) So lots of ways you might end up not having to service although getting it done now is clearly the best.
posted by metahawk at 6:23 PM on April 24, 2019 [1 favorite]
By the way, the other times I have been summoned for jury duty (It has happened a total of five times) I never even got close to being assigned to trial. (Twice just had to call in, once spend a day in the jury waiting room, once assigned a case that settled as we were waiting for the judge and lawyers to come in.) So lots of ways you might end up not having to service although getting it done now is clearly the best.
posted by metahawk at 6:23 PM on April 24, 2019 [1 favorite]
Can you get a note from the doctor who is treating your father? That may go a long way to get dismissed.
Also, your initial court visit may be to pick and organize the pool of jurors who will have to be available for a set period of time. You may go and not get picked, so you won't have to worry about postponements… yer done.
posted by jabo at 6:52 PM on April 24, 2019
Also, your initial court visit may be to pick and organize the pool of jurors who will have to be available for a set period of time. You may go and not get picked, so you won't have to worry about postponements… yer done.
posted by jabo at 6:52 PM on April 24, 2019
I live in another state, but just got out of jury duty last week with this single sentence: "My son is disabled and I need to take him to medical appointments regularly." Perhaps you could do something similar with "I am the primary caregiver for my aging father who requires me to take him to medical appointments weekly and take care of his significant medical needs daily."
posted by Toddles at 8:11 PM on April 24, 2019
posted by Toddles at 8:11 PM on April 24, 2019
Response by poster: Thank you so much, everybody, for your responses!
Just typing it all out (brain dump) and doing and thinking about something else for the next few hours eased my stress level considerably. That and knowing the hive mind would have helpful answers and suggestions.
Thanks especially to skewed from federal court experience, all the anecdotal reports of successful single sentences and other court experiences, and to internet detective squad for help prioritizing the arguments.
I'll probably write more than a single sentence, but will pare down from what I've written here, and I do feel much better about handling things this morning.
posted by jaruwaan at 3:08 AM on April 25, 2019
Just typing it all out (brain dump) and doing and thinking about something else for the next few hours eased my stress level considerably. That and knowing the hive mind would have helpful answers and suggestions.
Thanks especially to skewed from federal court experience, all the anecdotal reports of successful single sentences and other court experiences, and to internet detective squad for help prioritizing the arguments.
I'll probably write more than a single sentence, but will pare down from what I've written here, and I do feel much better about handling things this morning.
posted by jaruwaan at 3:08 AM on April 25, 2019
This thread is closed to new comments.
Source: used to work in a federal courthouse
posted by skewed at 4:05 PM on April 24, 2019 [9 favorites]