> So, I've never had to serve on a jury - but something I've always > wondered about - they can't force someone who is supporting their family > to go on jury duty, can they? Or how about a single guy/gal - what if > they can't afford to pay rent because they can't go to work?
They most certainly can, and they will. Hospital stays and military deployments are typically honored, but the rest is fair game for jury selection. If they didn't do it this way then everyone would have an excuse. It's kind of like a civilian version of being called up from the Reserves for duty to your country. If the jury candidate can document clear cause for relief from service, then that _sometimes_ works, but not always. And some courts require jury candidates to show up in person to make their claim for relief with documentation in hand. Every court is different, so make sure to check, and get the rules in writing (or a printout from the court's website), not by what some clerk tells you. I know a guy who was heavily medicated for a heart condition which also required that he not undergo stress. He was scheduled for an out-of-town business meeting weeks in advance of his jury notice; he explained his situation to the court clerk who told him he shouldn't have a problem being relieved from duty. He assumed this meant there wouldn't be a problem if he didn't show up. Big mistake. During his business meeting a few states away from home, no more than three hours after he was supposed to arrive for morning jury selection, federal marshalls arrived with handcuffs drawn and an arrest warrant in hand. The marshalls brought him back to his home state and in front of the judge, where he explained his situation and also his physician called the court clerk with an explanation for the judge. Everything was finally resolved and he was relieved from service, but it took an affidavit from his physician to be filed to get him relieved. One piece of advice: never say to a judge, "You can't do that." They love to hear it, because it's always so much fun to prove you wrong. Don't try to use layman's logic in determining what a judge can and can't do, because that's mostly up to his discretion. Respectfully, Adam Phillip Churvis Team Macromedia Volunteer for ColdFusion Advanced Intensive ColdFusion MX Training ColdFusion MX Master Class: March 31, 2003 - April 4, 2003 http://www.ColdFusionTraining.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/index.cfm?forumid=5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/index.cfm?method=subscribe&forumid=5 Signup for the Fusion Authority news alert and keep up with the latest news in ColdFusion and related topics. http://www.fusionauthority.com/signup.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5
