The Dreaded Jury Duty Summons Letter

Reba said:
That's what my Deaf friend did; he got the letter and WANTED to serve. He contacted the clerk to request a terp, NOT to get out of jury duty. He was shocked when the clerk told him that it was too expensive, and that they would just excuse him. She said that was the standard procedure.
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And your deaf friend let this slide? That's a slam-dunk winnable legal argument.
 
Right, DHB; and btw, according to Reba, the friend is a he. No biggie, tho.
 
Tousi said:
And your deaf friend let this slide? That's a slam-dunk winnable legal argument.
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I'm not sure about the legal aspect. Judges have a lot of leeway in jury selection. They can pretty much excuse anyone for any reason.

Now if he had been selected for the jury, he would have the right to an interpreter.
 
Not true. Being deaf or blind alone isn't an excuse to get off jury duty- the person still has the right to be selected fairly through questioning, not dismissed on the basis of being deaf alone. If you -want- to serve jury duty and get excused straight away for being deaf, complain. It's your right and your responsibility.
 
Aleser said:
Not true. Being deaf or blind alone isn't an excuse to get off jury duty- the person still has the right to be selected fairly through questioning, not dismissed on the basis of being deaf alone. If you -want- to serve jury duty and get excused straight away for being deaf, complain. It's your right and your responsibility.
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Is jury duty a protected "right"?
 
My wife has been permanently excused from jury duty. Last time she got a summons, she wrote on the reply form that she is deaf and requires real-time captioning. She mailed it back, but never got a response. As the due date started getting close, she got a little nervous because they hadn’t responded, and she asked me to call and find out what was going on. When I called, I was told that somebody had flagged her in the computer as being permanently disqualified for jury duty. She will never receive another summons again in Ventura County.
 
Just FYI, some reasons to be excused from jury duty (in Connecticut):

The reasons for disqualification are listed in Connecticut General Statutes Section 51-217. The major reasons include:

*

You cannot speak or understand English.

You cannot serve because of a physical or medical disability (You must provide a letter from your doctor).

You are 70 years old or older and do not want to serve.

You already spent a day serving jury duty in state court during the three previous years OR you are scheduled to serve in the near future.

You have been convicted of a felony during the past seven years OR you are a defendant in a felony case now.

You are in jail or prison.

You are a State Senator or Representative and the legislature is in session.

You are a judge of the Superior Court, Appellate Court or Supreme Court, you are a judge of probate or you are a federal court judge.

You are not a citizen of the United States.
 
Go see your doctor and get a note. That might get you waived.
 
Good news.

I called the courthouse today, and asked them what to do to get excused from jury duty and they said to just fill out the form on the back and write in the reason why I cannot attend the summons for jury duty, get it notarized, and send it in, and I'm off the hook. They said no doctor's note is needed. YAY! And they won't send another summons to me for the next 3 years.

:applause:
 
That's great news. With your back pain, it'd have been pure torture for you to sit down all day.
 
I just got called for jury duty to recently. I had a problem due to my schedule; I teach college and I only have 1 substitue for my class and she was unavailable. I called in and I was given options to either be dismissed or reschedule. I just rescheduled because it was only a scheduling thing but I know that you can be excused. I don't know if you need a doctors note. But you should definately have to sit through all that. I'm sure there is a way to be dismissed.
 
Sorry I'm a little late on the reply. But that's great news. Good for you!
 
LuciaDisturbed said:
Good news.

I called the courthouse today, and asked them what to do to get excused from jury duty and they said to just fill out the form on the back and write in the reason why I cannot attend the summons for jury duty, get it notarized, and send it in, and I'm off the hook. They said no doctor's note is needed. YAY! And they won't send another summons to me for the next 3 years.

:applause:
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May I ask what the reason was that you gave them?
 
Reba said:
I know, it's sad. :(
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And it is a double whammy when deaf folks try to wrangle out of jury duty for no other reason than being deaf! Is it any wonder how some of society feels about us?
 
Tousi said:
And it is a double whammy when deaf folks try to wrangle out of jury duty for no other reason than being deaf! Is it any wonder how some of society feels about us?
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That is an interesting point, Tousi. I dont know of many people who like jury duty, and it is not just some deaf peeps either.

My father was in the jury a few years ago, and he had an opportunity to put away a rapist priest scumbag away and he did it. I would be proud if I could do that, help society get rid of scumbags like that.

Just truck on! :)
 
Liza said:
That is an interesting point, Tousi. I dont know of many people who like jury duty, and it is not just some deaf peeps either.

My father was in the jury a few years ago, and he had an opportunity to put away a rapist priest scumbag away and he did it. I would be proud if I could do that, help society get rid of scumbags like that.

Just truck on! :)
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I agree with you, Liza and while I was mentioning deaf folks, it wasn't only because this thread was initiated by a deaf individual. It was also because deaf folks bring this issue into sharper focus on two fronts that I can think of off-hand (there may be other factors). 1. When some jurisdictions tell deaf folks that they aren't allowed to serve, doesn't that raise your hackles without me going into a tirade of obvious, especially if those deafies just accept that?

Hey, I gotta go but if the next time I come here and see that, I'll try to amplify on some other points. GN you have responded
 
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