Just what I always wanted, a jury summons for federal court.
Once upon a time, I served on a jury. It was truly an enlightening experience and I even made friends! It was also so incredibly maddening that I hope never to do it again.
Above all because it was incredibly inefficient, for the jurors. It took more than a week for a drunk driving charge with zero evidence that should never have gone to court! And each day’s schedule was a mystery, seemingly because the judge was double-booked. Our reporting times changed daily, sometimes we would break for hours before being called back, others we were convened for an hour then sent home. We spent as much time shuffling in and out of rooms as we did actually holding a trial.
Jury service is also a financial drain. As a self-employed person, no one pays me for those days and I risk losing projects if I am unavailable at the wrong moment. Still, it’s often possible for a consultant like me to shift my time and make it up later. Unlike an hourly or ad hoc worker who not only earns less to begin with, they stand to lose entire jobs if they have to call out. That erratic schedule made it impossible to fit in pockets of work — lots of time to fill, with too little notice to schedule anything in it.
Now for the first time I’ve been summoned to federal jury service, and I’m dismayed to find out this requires being on call for 2 weeks. Every weekday for up to 2 weeks, I will call in the night before to find out if I have to show up the next morning at a location that’s a minimum of 90 minutes away during rush hour, by car or transit. Last time I was summoned (in my county) the courthouse location itself was also unknown until the day before, they could send us to any one of 7 cities spread out all over. It’s hard enough for me, how does someone with kids, a disability, or no car navigate surprise logistics like this? What do I do with meetings and appointments during a multi-week window? Rebooking everything seems like overkill, but last minute cancellations can be expensive for me and inconvenient for others. And if I end up on a jury I could also be out of commission for days or weeks (even months, this is federal) after that as well, making rescheduling precarious.
I receive a jury summons most years, but often don’t have to report. Last time I did, and sat through 2 days of voir dire before thankfully not being called. Presumably because so many people claim hardship it seems some judges are cracking down — he told us he would not be granting hardship exemptions except for true emergencies. He said missing out on wages isn’t enough even if it hurts, we had to show we did not have access to savings, gifts, or loans to cover rent. He said that unless it effectively meant becoming homeless, you’re serving. What the hell?! That’s not okay. I have it better than most and I’ll be okay, but at this point in time I am rebuilding in a bad economy and losing any business would hit hard.
My 2 week window runs all the way up until Thanksgiving, which could mean fewer trials and fewer jurors needed overall, but could also mean higher likelihood of having to report because many jurors will request deferments for holiday travel. My odds of getting called in probably go up in this window. There’s nothing I can do about it. While I don’t want to serve, I won’t go to unethical lengths to get out of it.
I understand the importance of jury trials and the civic duty we owe, I really do. But there has to be a better system that doesn’t put such a burden on citizens.