Posted by LadyCA on 11/21/13 9:39pm
Msg #493637

Jury Duty

How does everyone deal with going to jury duty since you must go for few days in a row if not a week or weeks? I was at the court house today and saw all those Juries and thought how do you all deal with the fact of going to jury duty if you are called.

Reply by jba/fl on 11/21/13 9:47pm
Msg #493639

I follow the instructions on the post card that I am sent. I take my Nook with me and read or play games while I am waiting. I doze too, until the next instruction.

I've only had to go downtown twice - not picked yet, so sent home after couple of hours. It is my civic duty and I don't mind.

Reply by LadyCA on 11/21/13 9:59pm
Msg #493641

I had a similar situation about a year or so ago that I was sent home after being there the whole day. I was just wondering what happen when we go to jury duty and our phones rings off the hook and there are notarizations to be done and loan signings cause we can't excuse our self from jury duty, I don't think we can tell them hold on I got notarizations and loan signings to do lol

Reply by jba/fl on 11/21/13 11:01pm
Msg #493646

Answer the phone as long as you can booking for the next day and beyond. Schedulers don't hold it against you....they encounter the same situations themselves.

Yes, it is difficult now when business is slower, but you just adjust.

Life sucks, then you die.

Reply by Exclusive Mobile Notary on 11/22/13 12:17am
Msg #493649

Send in the request to be excused. Being a single dad and sole provider of your kids excuses you in California.

Reply by Marian_in_CA on 11/21/13 10:15pm
Msg #493642

Show up and do your civic duty...

Turn your phone off, or on your outgoing message that you are unavailable to assist them because of jury duty. unfortunately, that's part of being an independent business owner. Sometimes, you lose work because you're needed elsewhere.

Or, if you get a call refer them out to another notary... like, maybe your husband, Raj?

Last time I was on jury duty, I was selected for a jury *because* I was a notary. To this day, I still get work because of my time there, up to an including referrals from the prosecuting DA. It's not because I marketed myself...I didn't. It's because I was professional and friendly and people remembered me.

Reply by Linda Juenger on 11/21/13 10:52pm
Msg #493643

Re: Show up and do your civic duty...

In our county you are sent a card in the mail for pre-selection. You then go to the website and verify your info. There is a place where you can say that you are self employed and would cause financial hardship if chosen. However, this will NOT get you off duty.

If you are chosen for jury duty, you are given a phone # to call every evening to see if you have to report the next day. You do NOT have to go and sit there all day and wait anymore.

The last time I was chosen for duty, I called in every night for a week and never did have to go to the courthouse. I was a little bummed.

No more sitting there all day waiting and then be sent home.

Reply by LadyCA on 11/21/13 11:34pm
Msg #493647

Re: Show up and do your civic duty...

Linda thank you for your kind reply nice to read a reply post in such kind manner

Reply by anotaryinva on 11/22/13 8:10am
Msg #493657

Re: Show up and do your civic duty...

You all are lucky, we can't take our cell phones in here (or anything that has a camera)

Reply by MAC/WA on 11/22/13 12:02pm
Msg #493699

I've got jury duty next week;

I've had to turn down signings for next week. I'm not happy: No work, no money.

Reply by rengel/CA on 11/22/13 12:26pm
Msg #493707

CellPhones and Jury Duty

If you get into a courtroom, turn your cellphone OFF and leave it OFF, otherwise your phone will be taken away from you. I had an attorney take her cell out to check her calendar and the bailiff took it away from her, she had to return to the courthouse after 4:00 that afternoon to retrieve it.

If you get on a jury, DO NOT put ANYTHING online, i.e., FaceBook, Twitter, etc. In California you can get into serious legal trouble. So the best thing is to say nothing.

My .02

Reply by Marian_in_CA on 11/22/13 12:44pm
Msg #493712

This is soooooo ture

In my case, we were told that we could only tell people that we were assigned to jury duty. That's it. The judge said that if any of us posted details online beyond that, we'd be in trouble. we were allowed to carry our phones in to the court building, even use them when we were waiting in the jury waiting room.... but the minute we were brought out of that room, they had to go off and stay off. When we were in deliberations, the bailiff took our phone batteries and stored them in a locked cabinet outside the room. If any of us were waiting on a call for an emergency, we were supposed to give people a certain number to the bailiffs desk to call instead.

Reply by LKT/CA on 11/22/13 6:48pm
Msg #493758

The way I handle ALL phones calls, regardless of where I am and what I'm doing, is after listening to their need, I ask the caller what day/time they'd like to meet. If I'm not available at that the time, regardless of the reason (i.e dental appt., running errands, loan signing, walking the dog, etc.), I simply ask the caller if they (or their client) are flexible on time , as I have X time open in my calender. If they don't have flexibility, then I either refer them to the UPS Store or refer them to a notary friend. But do not volunteer WHY I cannot meet with them. It's none of their business. Some notaries feel the necessity to explain to total strangers over the phone WHY they cannot meet with them. I don't....my answer is ALWAYS that "I'm booked during that time, but I'm available to notarize at X time."

Most of the time it works out where the client is flexible - sometimes it doesn't as the client has a tight schedule and can only meet at X time. That's when I lose out but oh well, I usually win more than I lose so it's not a big deal for me.