UPDATE: Wife with Federal Grand Jury duty/Job issues.

[diabeticman]

For those who might be following my wife little saga I just wanted to give a quick update:

Background--My wife got selected for Federal Grand Jury duty which last 18 months but as much as 24 months (if needed) and well my wife's job is working with physically handicap individuals often in there homes and well these clients depend on there workers a lot! These client get nervous with fill ins and expect workers to be there and not call off.


Granted Jury Duty is basically once a month 1 to 3 days during that time BUT to these clients -at least some of them- it is unreasonable --they need to know that when my wife is suppose to work she will be there and that IF it is my wife job to take them to see a Doctor or take them shopping that she will and not have to worry that the day's activities will not be handle by the "regular person" or worse yet be canceled.

So my wife's company has basically been shafting her on getting a regular client and hardly calling her for Fill in jobs.

Many of you suggested trying to explain to the judge the type of job my wife does and how it jury duty is a hardship to see if she could excused.

UPDATE My wife explained the situation to the Clerk in charge of the panel. The Clerk asked for her office information and She was informed that the clerk tried to explain how my wife job operates to the judge and well he wasn't listening or wanting to understand he WILL NOT let her out of it.

I think the clerk also did get to talk to someone at her office because they manage to find her work -- 24 hours 3 days a week BUT it is a 1/2 hour drive and I think they are hoping that they don't have to deal with my wife and that she'll just get frustrated by the whole situation and leave the company.

Between my job commute and this trip 3 days a week it is going to be tight on gas money BUT I'm hoping it will work itself out and just maybe we can get caught up on bills.

Keep your fingers cross that my wife finds a better job. Thanks for listening and caring about us.

[MotherPetrie]

1. Good luck. That is so fucking unfair.

[femmocrat]

2. Thanks for the update, diabeticman.

Damn.... I wish they would settle out of court or declare a mistrial or something so she could get out of this. It sounds like you did everything you could. I was hoping it would be better news.

Continuing to send you both best DU vibes.

[diabeticman]

5. It isn't that type of Grand jury. She isn't hearing one case but the process before a trial.

[Honeycombe8]

3. Did she sit on a large panel from which attorneys selected the ones to be on the jury?

Or is a Grand Jury just called, and once you're called, that's it?

Reason I ask is...if it is a harship,and you are on a panel from which someone selects the Grand Jury members, there are ways to answer the questions that will get you excluded. Usually, all it takes is being honest, since many people lie in order to be selected. (Example: they always ask if the defendant doesn't testify in his own behalf, will you hold it against him? Jurors on panels I've been on have ALWAYS said they wouldn't. Now you KNOW there are people who would hold it against them. They just don't want to admit it.) Also, there is a procedure usually where you ask in writing, on a form given to you, to be excused from the duty because of hardship. So you have two opportunities to be excused.

I've experienced first hand how uncompromising the judges are about this sort of thing. Once I was in a pickle...called for jury right when I was moving out of town to start a new job. I wasn't picked for the jury, but was told I had to hang around for a few weeks in case I would be selected for the next jury. I was afraid I'd lose my new job. They had other applicants and could say not to bother showing up, they'd just hire someone else.

My car was literally filled with my items to move. This was no joke. I was also leaving because my husband and I were separating, so it was a very bad time. With no new job, what would I do? Anyway, I explained to the judge. He didn't excuse me. Reason is they hear every excuse in the world, all the time. They are numb to the creative excuses they hear. They simply don't believe them. I knew an attorney, so I called him, and he calle dthe judge and got me excused. Once someone ELSE told the judge my situation, he believed it. He hadn't believed me, I'm sure.

Hate to hear this. I wonder why they select people for such a long period of time? I didn't know that. Who can afford to do that for 18 months?

Maybe this GJ will end up being excused for some reason. I hope you both make it through this okay. It's a ridiculous and unfair situation.

[diabeticman]

4. It wasn't in front of lawyers. This is the Grand Jury that basically decides IF the Federal

government had a case to go to trial or basically vote for indictments. She was basically selected by a computer.

[Honeycombe8]

11. Ah. Well, they probably also sent her the procedure and form....

to ask for a hardship exception to be excused from the GJ. There is always a procedure for that. Maybe she missed that. But that's how you ask to be excused.

The fact that you don't do that, but later verbally ask the clerk...well, you know how it is if you don't follow procedures.

They probably also sent her a questionnaire to answer...she could've put some weird answers on there that would have excluded her...something that would be a flag that she could not be impartial.

Unfortunately...she basically told them she'd be an excellent jury member, with no partiality, and that it would not be a hardship! Hard to backtrack from that.

[diabeticman]

12. They didn't ask much the only questionaire came about a year before the panel was called

before she had this job. They just put them in a room and said the computer randomly selected people. No questions on bias or anything. She got the job about the same time she got selected.

[Downwinder]

6. Take the Jury on a trip.

http://campus.udayton.edu/~grandjur/faq/faq8.htm

She will get excused.

[diabeticman]

7. My wife could never do that purposely however she is find the way some of the federal

laws uncomfortable for her to deal with. If anything this process has made her feel completely disillusioned with our whole entire justice system. She feels too many laws are written in such a way to protect uber-rich and corporations and given the average citizens the shaft.


She also feels too many of her grand jurors aren't being as objective as they should be. She feels they look at themselves as convicting people or basically saying people are guilty so they can go to trial and be sentence. (PLEASE NOTE the jury has had a talking too about certain things happening)

She won't go more into it and has not said anything about cases to me she is just completely upset doesn't want to vote again She's lost faith in the Constitution and hates the way all three branches are not looking out for the interest of a few at the cost of We the People.

[pacalo]

10. Sometimes I wish I had my rose-colored glasses back...

but too much has been witnessed to be able to imagine that this country is ethically & conscionably sound.

Thanks for the update on your wife. I was hoping you had good news.

[CreekDog]

8. If she has to find a new job, then serving is a hardship

Do what you can to get excused.

Serving is one thing but it is not a sentence, nor meant to be.

[diabeticman]

9. She's spoken to two other jurors one has a similar job to my wife and she is given a hard

time as well AND another woman is looking for a job and she was suggested to NOT TELL prospective employers about her jury duty. The woman feels it dishonest not to let possible employers up front.