My mother was sent a jury duty summons. She has early dementia. What can I do????

There is usually a number to call
on the summons to ask questions like this. They will not want her to participate. Ask about the process to be excused.

Frankly, I'd ignore it. You can either do that or go to the website and fill out the form, but don't expect it to do much beyond postponing her date of service.

No one has ever been tossed into jail or fined for not responding to a jury summons. As it's your mom with dementia, not you, she cannot be held responsible for not responding and they can't prove she received it.

I've done jury duty more times than I can count and always do my civic duty, but they make it far too difficult to get out of it when there's a permanent issue. My dad finally got them to stop calling my mom by telling them she was stone deaf, which she was. I don't know if he had to provide documentation, but I'm sure he pointed out that she was in her eighties at the time as well.

In my area the police will eventually show up at your door for failure to follow a summons. I wouldn’t ignore it. Trust me, the government doesn’t forget when you ignore them!

One of the means to be excused from Jury Duty if there is proof one is not of sound mind. You’ll likely need some proof from Mom’s doctor. Not sure if a letter will suffice.

Primary care providers will write an official letter for excuse. Court systems understand the need for alert jurors.

Just call the number on the summons. Where I live if your 75 or older you do not have to serve. I have been able to tell a clerk that my nephew has a neurological problem and they have excepted it. He actually has an ID not a license which is how they know about u in my state. My DH is deaf. I have a doctors letter I send back everytime he got a Summons.

The clerk will tell you if you need anything from the doctor to prove her diagnosis. Since ur 59 Mom is probably passed the age limit.

Just call the Clerk of the Court, explain the situation and ask if you need documentation, and if so, from whom.   If I remember correctly (and it's been several years since I was called for jury duty), there's an explanation section for those who can't serve, but your mother may have to sign unless you have authority to sign on her behalf.

My mother received the same several years ago when her Alzheimer’s condition began. I just filled out the section where she could decline to serve and wrote in the explanation. I think I reiterated her age as well. Then I signed on her behalf.

Weeks went by and we received a reply stating she was not required to appear. It also included instructions on how we could go online to the court website to apply for her to be relieved from this civic duty permanently. I did that and she hasn’t received any more summons in 4 years.

Does the form you received have a web page to go to? My Mom got summoned, & all I had to do was go to the listed web page and put in a specific number that was on the summons. They had a list of excuses with checkboxes by them. I chose one and submitted it electronically. She was instantly excused, with no proof or doctor's notes required.

This of course, would depend on your county/state whether they handle things this way. It was very simple for us.

In my county
You need a letter from her doctor explaining her diagnosis.
You go to the court house and present it along with the jury summons. (there is usually information such as where to go and by what time for handing in exemptions)
However, there is usually an age exemption as well that is permanent, if offered in your locale.
I've done jury duty before and then I was diagnosed with a disease that stops me from being able to serve on a jury. I've been sent a summons about 3 times that I've had to do the letter from the doctor to explain why I cannot serve.
They do not keep the letters past a year and she can be sent a notice again later.

Get a letter from her dr stating her condition & bring it to court house. That’s what I did.

Call the phone number or electronic contact information. Explain your situation, They will tell you how to handle this.

There should be a phone number on the summons. Call and let them know about the dementia. There may even be some reasons you can check on the summons about health and mail it back.

States have an age requirement where people become exempt from having to do jury duty. Depending on how old she is, her getting a summons might be by mistake.
If your state is anything like mine, you won't be able to actually talk to a human being to explain if you call the phone number on the jury summons. It will likely just be a recording and automation.
Send back the summons with a note explaining.
If your mom doesn't meet the age requirement to be excused, have her doctor write a note about her not serving and send a copy of it back with the summons.

I have known people that failed to show for jury duty without applying for an excuse. I have been called for jury duty where the judge issued bench warrants for those that do not show.

Do not ever mess with the court system especially when it is so easy to be excused.

My goodness I never would have thought a question like this would become a contest on who is right! Just another sign of the times. Sad isn't it?

Have her doctor sign off that she has dementia, and send it in.

I got a letter from my doctor to excuse me from jury duty. It was a federal death penalty case, and they were pretty insistent that I should be there, even when I wrote a letter explaining that I had 2 autistic children still in diapers that I cared for. However, when I called and explained my situation, the kind lady I spoke to said a physician's letter will always work. I sent one, and it worked, I was permanently removed from being called for federal jury duty. I recommend a call with an explanation and a letter from the physician to get your mom out of jury duty without penalty.

To avoid future jury calls for your Mom the easiest thing is for you to respond to the notice by calling the number listed on the notice. After you press 4000 numbers you should get a live person. Explain that your mother has dementia and is not considered competent nor will be in the future (just in case they don't understand dementia). They may ask you to submit a doctor's statement confirming the dx which you should easily be able to obtain from Mom's PCP. Once you send it in her name will be removed from the jury rolls for good.

My wife's neurologist was a big help. Your mother's doctor can write a letter to the court describing her situation.

I love reading these answers,, but I just keep thinking to myself,,, "well if they are going to be awful about it,, I'll take her".. that should get her excused very rapidly once the questions begin! I know my Dad would have had a field day once there, and they would have been happy to excuse him! But then I do have a warped sense of humor!

Pam, my husband has said the same thing. He is deaf without a hearing aide. With it he hears maybe 30% and that is only one ear. The other is dead. I am the one who sends the doctors note with the form back. He is the one who says "I'll go anyway. Once they ask me a couple of questions they will let me go" Years ago I asked why they can't flag his name. I was told they didn't have that ability. Really, 35 yrs ago I could flag an account.

I got out of jury duty because I was Moms caregiver. Dr wrote that note.

Either your own or your Mom's MD will happily provide you a note of excuse from serving. It is usually a form they have in their office. Call.
In California anyone over 70 need only return the form that they do not wish to serve, no explanation.
Read the summons. Follow the instructions. There will be a way to contact. If not, simply return any paperwork saying that your Mom suffers from dementia and cannot serve. I doubt you will hear back. They will not wish to deal with this issue. If you do hear back tell them over and over "suffers from memory loss; cannot serve". They will not be incarcerating your Mom. Don't worry.

The first time I was called for jury, I was living outside of my county of permanent residence. I wrote a short note stating that fact and was excused. I heard nothing for 15 years. At which time, I then had a toddler and did not have full-time child care for her. I explained this and was excused again. I didn't hear anything for about 7 years. At which time, I had just returned home from the hospital with a newborn baby and was opening the mail that had piled up during my hospital stay and saw that I was being summoned for jury. That time, they wanted a doctor's note - which was easy to get. As I recall it was a one line form letter that the doctor signed & it did not give details of my medical situation. I never heard anything again about jury duty. Ever. I probably just jinxed myself. Separately, my MIL about flipped when she got called for jury and informed them she's unable to serve due to needing the restroom every 30 minutes and she knew this would disrupt the court. While true, I think the court was taken aback by her candor. She was never called again either. However, had they not excused her, they would have taken one look at her and dismissed her. Plus, she would never have made it all the way downtown, parked the car, etc. She had no capacity to do that anymore and I would have to go with her and babysit her all day. Just respond and explain. Even if there is no official diagnosis of a problem, just be truthful as to what she's like and what she can tolerate as well as her age. Of the three times I've been called, I only had to provide proof one of the times.

Call the court and tell them and provide them with a written statement from a doctor - you will have no problem, I assure you.

There was a form I filled out for my mom, I forget if it was in with or on the reverse of her summons or if I just found it on line, your town or state site and it may have been one of the ones that required a note from her Dr but I sent it all off and that took care of it.

Its been almost a week. Wonder how OP handled the summons.