Posted by jojo_MN on 6/4/08 11:06pm
Msg #250045

Grand Jury duty

Have any of you served on jury duty while in this business? I was just got a summons to jury service for the months of July and August. I feel it is my civic duty to do it; however, financially it would kill me. Just to make matters worse the trials would be held in Minneapolis, MN, which is approx. 180 miles away. They do offer 5 cents per mile and something like $20 per day.

Opinions would be greatly appreciated. I just received a notice that if I don't reply, that there will be a warrant issued for me to appear before the judge.

Reply by Roger_OH on 6/4/08 11:17pm
Msg #250046

Certainly agree about the civic duty; however, not at the expense of your livelihood. It's not like you have a company job where they will make up the difference between your salary and jury pay. As an IC, it's no work, no pay - not to mention having to turn down clients who will then turn to your competition.

Write a letter to the court clerk asking to be excused due to the hardship situation it would create for you. People are excused all the time for a variety of reasons.

Reply by jojo_MN on 6/4/08 11:25pm
Msg #250047

Thank you for your views. I've been stressing about it. I think it would be a very good experience; however, mu business would suffer tremendously.

Unlesss Maybe all of my notary buddies that wouldn't mind sharing buz with me while I'm up in the area. Right!

Well,all of you have a nice peaceful night. Don't know about you, but i'm crashing!

Reply by Susan Fischer on 6/4/08 11:25pm
Msg #250048

Don't know about your state, but in Oregon, it's a big deal. Lincoln County is a very long county, no freeway, rural.

When I got called to jury duty, I showed up. I had a signing, had the docs with me, and pled my 'dire circumstance' to the judge. He gave a general lecture to our panel about civic duty and the hardships our system sometimes places on citizens. He then politely denied my request. I was not called for that trial; made the appointment.

Next day, had a signing, but, informed borrowers/hiring entity of jury status, and tentatively rescheduled depending on whether I caught a trial.

You can work around it. You *really* don't want a warrant issued.

Reply by Doris_CO on 6/4/08 11:29pm
Msg #250049

I received a notice of Jury Duty for the county I live in. It was for a date that I was to be out of town. I called and had the date changed to later this month. According to the form I received, I could only change the date once. If there's a phone number on your form, you should call and talk in person to someone to determine what you can or can not do. You might find out that the Grand Jury only meets a couple of times during the two months instead of every day.

Reply by jojo_MN on 6/4/08 11:34pm
Msg #250050

My Date was the entire months of July and August. It is federal jury. Ick.It says I have to be "on call". If they need me overnight, they will pay a portian of the fee for hotel. I supposed I could view it as an extended vacation. Right.

Reply by Becca_FL on 6/5/08 12:15am
Msg #250053

Sitting on a Grand Jury requires much more time than your basic jury duty. Many Grand Jurors sit for a three month period, depending on your state, and require some nights being cloistered. The Grand Jury is another animal compared to regular county jury duty. Unless you have ample time to kill and no job, a Grand Jury gig might be informative and interesting. If you are trying to sustain a family with your NSA business, your best bet is to write a note to the Judge explaining your situation and hopefully the Judge will release you.

Been there, done that. I was called for Jury Duty the week I was to take care of my baby sister while her father and my mother were away for radiation treatments at MD Anderson. The rotation was in place, the dates were set and I could not let my family down. A simple note to the Judge took care of the situation.

Write the Judge, be honest and state your circumstances. Civil duty or not, you should not be expected to compromise your livelihood to serve. There are plenty of retirees just dying for the opportunity. I have others way out, if you should need them, just send me an email.

Good luck, Jolene

Reply by JanetK_CA on 6/5/08 2:47am
Msg #250059

I agree. There are enough people out there whose companies give them full pay for jury duty -- at least in most areas.

I get a summons almost yearly for regular jury duty. Since I've served many times before, including actually being on a jury panel that decided a case, I figure I've done my part. But in those days, I was getting my salary paid. (And it was a *very* interesting experience that I feel everyone should have at least once!)

I'm in a very urban area, so things could be very different here, but I just plead financial hardship, as a self-employed person, every time and I've always been excused. In prior years, I've asked to have my jury service rescheduled. Someone once suggested to request a new service date right before a holiday weekend. No one in the courts wants a trial to go over a long weekend, so you are less likely to get put on a case. Tried it once and it worked.

Reply by BrendaTx on 6/5/08 5:23am
Msg #250062

**If you are trying to sustain a family with your NSA business, your best bet is to write a note to the Judge explaining your situation and hopefully the Judge will release you.**

I have done that for regular jury duty. No problem. However, now that I work full time, it is open season on me. My boss has it on the 10th.

Reply by snoopdogMs on 6/5/08 6:51am
Msg #250063

I have jury duty coming up but the last time I served a good friend that was an orthodontist was in the same jury pool. The judge required him to serve. I think my friend was surprised. It depends on how hardnosed the judge is about excuses.

Reply by Stamper_WI on 6/5/08 7:00am
Msg #250065

My 20 yr old was summoned in the MN town she goes to college in. She's in alaska on an internship all for3+ months. They told her she was subject to recall when she gets back.

Reply by BrendaTx on 6/5/08 7:04am
Msg #250066

I believe here it is very important not to IGNORE the summons...I am sure they would have called me and said "get up here" if it was necessary.

I crack up though when my mom gets a summons. OMG...she makes a dang trip to the courthouse to make sure she won't get arrested for being over the age of whatever it is. I'll bet have the senior population does. All they have to do is fill out their excuse and send it in...BUT NO! The drama of going to the courthouse to proclaim old age is so much more appealing.

Reply by BrendaTx on 6/5/08 7:05am
Msg #250067

Re: Grand Jury duty - correction

**I'll bet have the senior**

I'll bet HALF the senior...

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 6/5/08 7:09am
Msg #250068

It's important here not to ignore the summons as well.

I have a permanent excuse from jury duty, so I no longer get those summons

Reply by MikeC/NY on 6/5/08 12:45pm
Msg #250143

We recently had a situation in a neighboring county where the Commissioner of Jurors, trying to be a nice guy, would ask the panel of potential grand jurors which ones were willing to serve the term (usually a month, 5 days a week here). Those who volunteered were the first accepted, with others selected randomly if there weren't enough volunteers.

In an example of how no good deed goes unpunished, a defense attorney filed suit about this practice, and the judge ruled that what the Commissioner was doing was illegal. Because of this, a boatload of indictments and even some convictions are now in jeopardy.

The courts here don't care about the hardship - civic duty is the price you pay for living in this society (that, and taxes...). You can usually get one postponement, but it's extremely difficult to get out of it completely. I think getting excused from federal jury duty is even harder.

Reply by sue_pa on 6/5/08 7:31am
Msg #250072

I agree that you must do something and can't ignore it or you'll have someone at the door with the silver bracelets - here, local - not federal - they actually call you on the telephone and give you 1/2 hour or so to get there - if not they truly come for you - and it makes the newspaper EVERY time - I guess a deterrent for others.

Anyway, I would make a phone call first to the court and then to a lawyer to see what type reasons get you excused. I'd think self-employed would work but I'd want to be very specific and detailed. I'd be out of business in the case you describe and I'd be back before the judge with my bankruptcy petition.

As for the one with the 20 year old ... oh my, to be a defendant having your future decided on the wisdom and common sense of a twenty-year old.

Reply by jba/fl on 6/5/08 8:03am
Msg #250077

"As for the one with the 20 year old ... oh my, to be a defendant having your future decided on the wisdom and common sense of a twenty-year old."

Why not - they vote. In fact, if you Google 'voting age' you will see where England has been pondering lowering age to 16 (4-8-04); many groups in this country are wanting to lower to 17, some 16. To me, that is akin to vote purchasing ala advertising to the teens as they have the money and future spending power, etc.

Reply by sue_pa on 6/5/08 9:44am
Msg #250086

Well, I certainly wouldn't want my fate determined by the three who have passed through my doors when I remember some of their 'rationalizing' of situations when they were 20

Reply by jba/fl on 6/5/08 9:51am
Msg #250090

Oh, I agree Sue-pa

my granddaughter is 20 but my lawyer would eliminate her during jury selection process (assuming that I ever got to that point) LOL

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 6/5/08 11:27am
Msg #250121

Re: Oh, I agree Sue-pa

Bruce always got eliminated during jury selection. His brother works for the court system, and for some reason some attorneys didn't like that. Now, like me, he has a permanent "excused from jury duty" letter.

Reply by Carolyn Bodley on 6/5/08 7:58am
Msg #250076

Re: Federal Court is a different animal than muni or county

I've been called for municipal and county court several times. I have been called for Federal Court one time, however, the afternoon before my husband was seriously injured while working out-of-state. His company called to advise an airplane e-ticket was ready for me, and that someone was on the way to pick me up to take me to the airport. I told them I had Federal jury duty. They called the court and had to document in wriitng via fax the accident and the hospital was called to verify. The trial was the Oklahoma City bombing.

Reply by Gerry_VT on 6/5/08 11:39am
Msg #250129

If it's 180 miles one way, you should evaluate your ability to stay awake at the wheel after driving 180 miles, spending a whole day on jury duty, and driving 179 miles back. If you doubt your ability to stay awake at the wheel, and fear that you might be injured or killed in a car accident, you should so inform the jury officials.

Reply by jojo_MN on 6/5/08 3:03pm
Msg #250162

Thank you all for your comments. . .

. . . I wrote them a nice letter explaining my fiancial precidcament. I'll wait and see what happens.

360 miles in a day??? Isn't that the normal life for a Notary Signing Agent?! JK

Reply by Gerry_VT on 6/5/08 4:07pm
Msg #250171

Re: Thank you all for your comments. . .

In terms of staying awake at the wheel, driving for 30 minutes, meeting with some one for 45 minutes, and repeating that sort of cycle all day is much different than driving for three hours, working in the same room for 8 hours, and then driving for three hours.

Reply by jojo_MN on 6/5/08 4:31pm
Msg #250173

That's why I said "JK" --just kidding. : ) n/m

Reply by davidK/CA on 6/5/08 12:39pm
Msg #250140

California perspective

Based on my experience the Superior Courts in California will not excuse you from jury duty because of a financial hardship, As one Judge told me, "If you can't afford to serve, then take the money out of your savings or go borrow the money you need from somebody." Of course HE was getting paid the whole time. I wound up serving on that jury for two whole weeks. I think my gross earnings were about $90 for the entire period. And you get zero pay for the first day of service because that doesn't count, even if you just sit and waste the entire day waiting in the jury room.

As I was instructed the only valid excuses were physical disability, nursing mothers, law enforcement officers and sometimes college students. Everyone else, tough luck.

Reply by jojo_MN on 6/5/08 3:03pm
Msg #250163

Re: California perspective

That is not what I wanted to hear!

Reply by SheilaSJCA on 6/5/08 5:37pm
Msg #250182

Re: California perspective

I got called for county jury duty last summer. I did show up and explained the financial hard-ship I would suffer, being self employed as a notary public, and that I am already serving the public, in an official capacity, and they excused me.

Reply by JanetK_CA on 6/5/08 8:08pm
Msg #250188

Re: California perspective

In CA, each county runs their jury program and it's a bit different in each one. I've served in both LA County (on a case) and Orange County, and they ran the programs very differently. It might just depend on the luck of the draw, too.