What do I do about jury duty summons?

Absolutely. I got out of jury duty because of my circumstance of caring for my mom. You need to explain your situation. The best

I though about that too. Thinking it would cause a real stir...imagine bringing him in with the wheel chair, and handing the court clerk the extra depends and advice the clerk to change him every hour before he starts to smell. Oh...and he will need nap times, maybe the court could break for them?

My mom has gotten three Jury Duty summons since she moved to Assisted Living then Skilled Nursing...she's 89 and never got them before. I think I should take her, in her wheelchair, she can't hear well, likes to talk about the potty, and tell them I'm her POA Should get a giggle out of the perspective Jurors.

Last year my Mom, who was 97 at the time, got a jury notice. Say what??? I filled out the form for her since she was legally blind and very hard of hearing. Never heard back :)

I would have loved to have have served on a jury back in my youth, but now in my 70's, forgetabout it. My brain is fried after dealing with elderly parents for 7 years :P Heck I fall asleep in front of my computer at times.

In many states, simply being older than 75 is excuse enough.

When my Dad got such a summons, I wrote back..explained that he is unable to remain awake for periods longer than about 30 minutes. Is incontinent and will need extra depends and time to bathroom breaks every hour,

I got a simple notice that being 93 was reason enough.

According to their website, yes you do have to serve. There is a list of exemptions.

Am I supposed to serve on Jury duty in San Mateo County if I am over 70 plus yrs. of age?? Do I need a reason??
Thanks,
VRS

Generally, the only way anyone is permanently excused from jury duty is if the prospective juror is him- or herself permanently disabled, and has a doctors letter to that effect, or is disabled and over a certain age when they are then allowed to self-declare their disability.

Usually, if the perspective juror is claiming caretaking, even of a younger disabled child that may go on for years and years, the jury selection process does not assume that the need to be the caregiver is a permanent one, for example if the patient passes away or is subsequently located in a facility where 24 hour care is provided. So, the request for an excusal as a caregiver is mostly always consider temporary and you go back in the pool for selection again the next time. Sometimes they won't even accept an older letter from a doctor again because the patient may have died or may have different living arrangements. They pretty much want your request for an excusal to be in the present.

$4.00 a day? And here I was complaining about $30/day.

WindRose, glad the doctor is very accomodating. When you go to court, ask them if this is a one-time deal and your name is expunged? Or your name goes back in and then when pulled in the future, you have to again bring the doctor's letter?

I, my nephew and niece have never ever registered to vote. Yet, we have all been called for jury duty - And Served as Juror. We're not registered voters but we all have driver's license. ...I have never ever in my 47 years registered to vote....

I think here it is still the voting thing. They just tell you it is the DMV. Here if you are over 73 they don't want you either. Personally I would do it even if I am disabled and have to take care of my dh, I would do it just to get out of the house. They only pay $4.00 a day and take you to Taco Johns to eat. Yuk!

I had to write them a letter stating that it would cause undue financial hardship for me to find someone to care for her while at jury duty as she requires assistance in all facets of her daily life (dressing, bathing, eating, etc). They had no problem excusing me.

If you write a letter explaining the situation it may get you excused. I have done that in the past. Otherwise a letter from the doctor should do the trick.

Thank you everyone for your input! I love this forum mostly because the answers are so real. Real and practical advice and input. I phoned Doc and he is sending me a letter which I'll present in person on that first day. Says he does it all the time. Who knew?

Thanks to all for this and for all you do for those who would appreciate it if they could!

WOW Book 16 months???? Here we go to jury selection and if not chosen were done until our name pops up again. That calling everyday would for sure stress someone out. That on top of caregiving??? I would try to be excused if that were the case here.

For 2stressedout - that is ridiculous that you were made to feel like you had to leave elders at risk home alone. Isn't much different then leaving children alone. Be preemptive. Get a doctors letter now before you need it again which will pre date a jury request and show that you are an ongoing caretaker. If you get another summons, immediately return your request for excuse along with the doctors statement. If they deny you, depending on what court its from municipal (city) or superior (usually County), immediately call the appropriate government staff, like city councilmans office or county supervisors office, tell them what happened last time and ask for their assistance. Your elders will be even older next time. Please don't just leave them alone, it proves to the moronic courts that you can.

Just out of curiosity, when your name is on the list of potential jury, how long are you "on call"? Here, once your name is on the list, we have to call Every night to see if our number is required to show up at court the next day. We have to do this daily for about 1 year...but we are officially "on call" for 16 months. I had an acquaintance who was so stressed from this because at the time she told me this, within that 16 month period, she was chosen THREE times to serve as juror. It was a hardship for her because all they pay you is $30/day and then she had to find ways to go to work and earn her regular paycheck with real working hours in order to maintain her regular salary. That's very hard when your job is an 8am-5pm job, Mon-Friday - not like a store where they can fit you in for night shift or weekend shifts.

Interesting Brandy, In my state they no longer go by voter registration but by DMV... I didn't know that there were still states doing this by voter registration??? Same as with Book.

I have to go for jury duty on the 23rd. I did not receive any form to fill out... Silly me I am finding someone to watch my dad so I can have a day out... Sad isn't it?? I was happy that the summons was at a local court and I didn't have to go downtown to the major city. I once had a high risk pregnancy and was postponed to then going when the baby was 3 weeks old after a C-section. I figured I would just go to this one. Sad way to get a break isn't it???

I just finished jury duty, and there were a lot of people in the jury pool with the same need to be excused. I was surprised at how many said they requested to be excused before showing up and were told to show up anyway. You should definitely try the signed letter by your doctor. Be sure to send it in way ahead of time.

I would think that you could ask them to excuse you based on your obligations to your mom. I am also a full time caregiver for my mother (77). She also has severe RA and over the past couple of years has developed a number of other problems. I recently got a subpoena to testify in a court case. The first 3 times I made arrangements to be away from mom for a bit to fulfill what I felt was an important obligation as I had witnessed a crime. The case kept being postponed......the 4th time I got the subpoena was right about the time mom was due to undergo yet another surgery. I refused the subpoena and called the city attorney........No one's come to arrest me yet! I have been blogging about mom, her RA, and the horrors of senior healthcare. I would love your input as someone who obviously knows the challenges of this horrible disease! My blog is on FB, twitter and google+ if you are interested. Good luck!

We've both called to explain & get removed from their rosters for jury duty,
and, written in on their forms.
I cannot think of anyone who was required to get a Dr. excuse--but that could happen...they are so desperate, in many areas, for jurors who have more than a few brain cells in a row.
Seriously.
Sometimes they come across as very heavy-handed & a bit threatening, trying to get people to just come in to see if they can be picked for jury duty....

There are LOTS of conditions people can be validly excused, permanently fro jury duty:
--If a person has health conditions they can't accommodate;
--If the person must caretake someone and has no one to cover for them;
--If it is a financial hardship;
--If someone lacks transportation;
etc.

I filled it out and explained I was the caregiver for both of my in-laws who were in their late 80's and both had problems with falling. One had dementia and the other was legally blind. They replied that it was not a valid excuse so I left them alone that day. We were released early that day and they were okay.

windrose, I also got a letter for jury duty last year. I called the number on the sheet and she told me it was no problem , just write it on the form and send it back. I sent it back, no doctors note, and got an excused letter back.

They used to get the jury pool names from the voters registration. Then they caught on that people were not registering to avoid Jury duty. Now, they also get it from the Motor vehicle registration for driver's licenses.

I am my MIL primary caregiver and her dr. Wrote me a letter telling the court that and I could not serve indefinitely because of my caregiving responsibilties they accepted it and excused me from jury duty.

Next time there is an election, don't vote. Then you won't be on their radar or on their list. If you do vote, then be sure to vote with the prevailing party. Let's say the prevailing party is Republican, then be sure to vote rep. If you don't then they will surely single you out b/c they don't have many voters in that category. Like if there are 10 democrats and 5000 rep. They want a jury of one's peers and they want rep, demo and independents on that jury. I know this b/c of experience.

NancyH, did you obtain a letter from your 88-year-old mother's doctor?? Next time, just send in a copy of the doctor's letter with the filled out excuse field on the back of the summons form with her age and her one medical condition. If Mom cannot sign her name, you then sign your name on the form as her (Daughter). Keep the original doctor's letter on hand in case those Bozos at court bother your mother again! Perhaps you may call your mother residential State and County and ask just how many years is the doctor's letter valid?

I went to the website to reply, and gave my hardship notifications. I was excused. Easy as that, for me! Hope it resolves easy for you!

Oh my gosh we just went thru with this with my 88 year old mother-in-law. This is the second time in the last 3 years that she has gotten a jury summons. Every single time I write on the card you have to return to them 'STOP SENDING THIS OLD LADY JURY NOTICES'. But they just keep'em coming. Finally my husband called them this time, and they told him that unless the person is DEAD, they'll keep getting those stinkin' notices! We can keep a space station orbiting earth for years, but are unable to retire names of people that are over 70 years old from a jury summons. Geez