Jury Duty

nerdymama15 · April 2016

So today I got a jury duty summons in the mail. Any other time I'd be okay whatever and just do my civic duty. But this time I'm like wtf. I have a preemie in the NICU and I'm recovering from a c-section, and I have to pump every three hours. The date of the summons is for May 23. I am hoping that my baby is home by then but still. Any idea if they let you off for being on maternity leave/recovering from surgery, etc? I Googled and searched and got mixed answers. Anyone else have any experience with this?

doozer1345 · April 2016

I would call ASAP. I would think they'd let you go.

cortney626 · April 2016

In my experience they let you postpone for a year due to pregnancy, etc.

evalynn24 · April 2016

I think all you have to do is mark to postpone and say you aren't available during the months of May/June. My experience is they take a long time to send you another one after that.

lalala2004 · April 2016

If you are the caretaker of a child 12 or under, you have to be excused. Unless they do it differently in other states....

kp90 · April 2016

Don't rely on what you find online. I would call them ASAP and explain your situation. I have seen people get off jury duty for much less so I would think they would give you a pass with everything you have going on.

proudparent2b · April 2016

lalala2004 said:

If you are the caretaker of a child 12 or under, you have to be excused. Unless they do it differently in other states....

That has not been the case in any of the counties/states that I've lived in.

swflJD · April 2016

Look at the summons you received. There is usually a box to check to postpone your service. If not, call the clerk immediately. Their phone number should be on the summons. Explain your situation and request a postponement. I'm not sure how they operate in your jurisdiction, but you would have absolutely no problem getting it postponed here.

saladflambe · April 2016

Needing to pump every few hours should exclude you; contact them. If nothing else, go in, and when they ask "is there any reason why you might not be able to be focused on this trial" or whatever, tell them your situation, and you'll not be selected. I was called into jury duty at 7 months pregnant, appeared, and simply told them "I'm completely fine with serving, but I need to go to the bathroom every hour because I'm 7 months pregnant." There was a lot of laughter and congratulations. They were very nice about it and, I think, just appreciative that I showed up.

lsilvey22 · April 2016

I got selected for May as well. My c-section is scheduled for May 5th. I just completed my questionnaire with a short typed out letter to the clerk of court stating my situation and that I would appreciate being excused. They mailed me back a response within a week letting me know that I was OK to be excused.

Hope it is that simple for you as well!

thismakes4 · April 2016

I don't know what state your in but you should be excused (delayed a year) if you say that you breastfeed your child under 12 months old.

thismakes4 · April 2016

cortney626 said:

In my experience they let you postpone for a year due to pregnancy, etc.

I live in California and recently, I was almost selected to be a juror on a month long trial but then they had to delay the trial so everyone was excused. Didn't matter if you were pregnant or not.

lalala2004 said:

If you are the caretaker of a child 12 or under, you have to be excused. Unless they do it differently in other states....

I tried to use that as my excuse since I have a 5, 4, and almost 2 year old that I am a SAHM to. I was told it wasn't an excuse because I am married and apparently my working DH would have to be responsible for them.

JoMunson · April 2016

In Oregon, new moms/breastfeeding moms are allowed a postponement. In sure every state has some form of "I just had a baby" postponmenet

LadyStardust179 · April 2016

I was able to get a note from my doctor recommending that I didn't serve while pregnant with a high risk pregnancy. It was all I needed to be excused. Your situation sounds more difficult so I think you would be excused too based on recovering from surgery, caring for your children, and breastfeeding.

togmama · April 2016

I got called in for a week before my due date and they excused it.

nerdymama15 · April 2016

Thank you all for the responses. I took the summons to my OB and got them to sign it. I also plan on attaching a letter with it explaining the situation in further detail. I hope they still don't make me serve. I live in the backwards state of NC. I don't think we have nice laws for new moms and jury duty like some of you pps mentioned about your states.

lalala2004 · April 2016

Dang, other states suck! Who would imagine Texas would be so nice to moms in this way! Unless it's just Dallas County, I don't know....

evalynn24 · April 2016

Sorry, I know I'm bringing an old thread back again, but here is a site from your state: https://www.nccourts.org/Support/FAQs/FAQs.asp?Type=1

I would say pregnancy (and possibly a newborn at that time) is a valid medical reason. Especially since they list a prior planned family vacation as an excuse

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