Berkeley Parents Network: Jury Duty

Berkeley Parents Network

Jury Duty

Berkeley Parents Network > Advice > Parenting, Families, & the Community > Jury Duty

How can I stop getting called every year!

July 2003

Can anyone tell me how to ''unregister'' to vote? I seem to get called for jury duty every year, and am a full-time mom to a 1 1/2- year-old and a three-year-old. We have no childcare, no local relatives, and are not sending our kids to preschool. I have been excused in the past because I was breastfeeding, but now I just have to plead my case each time, and I'd rather just give up the right to vote for the next 4 years. Any advice on how to do so?
Mommy Stressed About Jury Duty

The courts use several sources, not just voter roles, to select jurors. So this method would not only deprive us of your important point of view in upcoming elections (I hope by now we see how important it is to vote!), but it might not get you out of jury duty. I believe that small children and no childcare is a standard check off on the jury duty form. This may vary by court, and I know the way it is written is a bit confusing, but you should be able to apply for excusal easily, without having to go to the court at all. You do not want a ''deferment,'' you want to be excused. Look for the area where you can ask for that on the first notice you get. Please vote--for your kid's sake.
Served Recently

You didn't mention what county you're in but Alameda County excuses persons caring for a preschool child full-time. You certainly more than qualify. I don't think being registered to vote makes any difference - I've been called every year for the past 5 and I'm not a registered voter. - anon

As the full-time provider of care to a child, you have an automatic excuse. It is called ''Person Care'' on the checklist, or you can just write them a short letter explaining that you provide care to children, and you will be automatically excused. Please don't ''unregister'' to vote! Especially these days, it is very important to vote.

I'm in the same position and I just write in every year. It's odd that my husband has never been called for jury duty, yet I get a notice every year. Go figure. Compared to the relative annoyance of writing to the County of Alameda once/year, abandoning your right to vote seems pretty extreme! Don't stress about it -- you have a great excuse and you'll be excused even if you have to show up for a few hours.
Laurel

I believe I am called for jury duty from the DMV records because of the name I have on my license vs. the name I have used for registering to vote. So that plan of yours likely won't work. eve

I believe that the court system gets their list of potential jurors from the DMV, not voter registration, so unless you want to give up your driver's license, you will be stuck with jury duty. I have been called by two different courts in the past several months, and I believe that the forms I filled out for both had a place where they would consider an excuse if someone relies on you as their primary care giver. Susan

I have not done jury duty in over 9 years, since I started having kids. I just tell them I don't have a sitter, and they don't bother me. If they really try to make me show up, I plan to bring my kids along, and I am sure that will work. I will gladly do my duty when my kids are old enough. I think you can continue to vote and not have to go while you have little kids. Trudi

In addition to explaining the specifics of your situation, it would not hurt to call the county and make sure that your name is only listed one time in their records. I was being called every three to four months. It turned out that my name was listed four times. I am noot sure why, but one listing included my middle name, one my middle initial, one without. The list does not consider these names duplicates, even though they are at the same address. At least this would minimize the number of times that you are called! Deirdre

My husband was called for jury duty before he became a US citizen (and therefore not registered to vote), so we assumed they ''found'' him via his driver's license info. Not registering to vote is NOT a good idea, and not the solution anyway. One can avoid jury duty two ways - the ''bad'' way is to simply ignore the request when you receive it. I've never known any instance of people being tracked down - where are the resources for that?

The ''good'' way is to do your duty - if you have to go in, tell the truth and take your chances. Alas, the way the system works, it encourages ''bad'' behavior. Voter to make difference

I'm not sure how to unregister to vote, but as far as being excused, I just stated that I do not have childcare for my child from 8-5 (which is true, and does not depend on breastfeeding). So far this has worked, but I live in San Francisco, so maybe other counties are different. Ellen

Unfortunately, ''unregistering'' to vote won't solve your problem of being called for jury duty. I am a British citizen and get called on fairly frequently, either because I own property in Oakland or because of DMV records. In order to get out of jury duty, I have to send the court a copy of my green card to prove that I am not a U.S. citizen, and I am then excused. Charlotte

I am horrified that someone would decide not to vote for the next 4 years. Please stay registered, and when you've run out of legitimate excuses for jury duty, call in sick the day you're supposed to show up. anon.

I can sympathize with your desire to avoid being called for jury duty. However, ''de-registering'' to vote, even if it is possible, will not prevent your being called. The State of California uses the DMV database in addition to the voter registration list (see the item ''Source list'' at the URL http//www.courtinfo.ca.gov/jury/glossary.htm#source%20list); so unless you want to give up your driver's license or ID card and then move from your current residence, you cannot remove yourself from the pool of potential jurors. I was able to postpone jury duty as a new mother, but cannot offer any helpful suggestions because I was in New York City where the rules are less strict. Good luck! Anne

My eighteen year old, high school senior was called for jury duty, despite not yet having registered to vote. It seems as if you do not need to give up your vote, they'll get you no matter what! Good luck. Paula

It's my understanding that the courts get names for jury duty from the DMV as well as the voter regstration rolls, so ''unregistering'' to vote won't help you if you own a car or have a driver's license or California state ID card.

If your kids aren't in school, you can check the excuse box that says you are responsible for the care of another M-F from 9 to 5. This gives you an automatic excuse. I live in Alameda County; I get summoned every six months; I check the box, write that I care for my kids full-time (including the ages of my kids), send it in and that's that. I've never heard any thing from the court except another summons six months later.

You don't mention what county you live in, but I think it's a state law that you are excused from juty duty under those circumstances.

It's irritating, but my advice would be to fill out the form and stop stressing, That's what I do. Good luck! Karen

Please don't give up voting! You can still claim exemption from jury duty if you are the sole care giver to someone young or old. There is a spot on the jury duty form that you need to send back where you state the names and ages of who you are caring for. I filled this out just a few months ago and my daughter is 4 years old, it was not a problem. Voter registration is not the only list they can get your name from for jury duty. Drivers license is another one. Please go on voting! an avid voter

I would like to add to the discussion that if you CAN serve on Jury Duty, that should also be considered a part of responsible parenting. If everyone was ''too busy'' to serve, what kind of a justice system would we have? And what kind of a society would your kids be growing up in? Further, what sort of lesson are you teaching your kids about civic responsibility? Admittedly the Justice system is pretty messed up as is, but one thing that is good about it, is the participation of you and me. Just to be clear I do think childcare is a perfectly reasonable reason not to serve, and I believe it is widely accepted as an excuse.
Served Recently

I'm also an at-home mom (with 3 kids 4 and under) and can empathize with your dilemna! With that said, I think there are two issues here 1) is the jury duty system interested in your plight before you are selected? (probably not) 2) what kind of back-up care do you have for situations like this and emergencies?

I feel very strongly about our personal responsibility to vote-- as a politics major, former public servant and a military reservist I believe we are throwing away our freedoms when we don't educate ourselves and take the time to cast our ballot. Not many countries share the same freedoms we do and to preserve our democratic values we have to vote. With that said, I don't know if it's possible to ''de-register.'' So you may continue to come up annually for jury duty as long as you drive a car (one way our info is captured for voting purposes). I've also used the nursing justification to get out of jury duty. I don't have full or part-time help. I usually rely on close friends, my babysitting coop, my husband taking a day off work (or my mother-in-law if I'm really desperate). If you are called up, in most cases you never have to show or sit on a jury (this has been my husband's experience three times in seven years). If you do show, I would immediately tell them this is an economic hardship because of the childcare issue (and your husband missing work--I'm assuming this is what you would say). In that case, I'm sure they would consider removing you from that jury or assigning you to a shorter trial. Your kids won't be this young for long! I hope this helps. Mom of 3

Unregistering to vote won't solve your jury duty problem -- most counties get names from multiple sources, including DMV records, etc. I realize that jury duty is a chore, but it's also a responsibility of citizenship. Imagine that you were accused of a crime -- or the victim of a crime. Wouldn't you want the best and brightest deciding the case? Okay, off my soapbox. Just wanted to remind everyone that jury service wasn't invented to be annoying, it's central to our democracy. And if it's really a hardship in terms of income or childcare, it's quite easy to be excused (usually all you have to do is write a letter.) nelly

You cannot ''unregister'' from voting, and in any case, it wouldn't do any good because they get lists of jurors from a variety of sources, not just voter rolls. What you can do, though, is move to Alameda county where they have the ''one day/one jury'' rule, that means that at most you'll have to spend one day a year on jury duty (unless you are chosen to be in a jury, but you can make sure you are not). Half the time, you don't even have to go that day either. I've also wonder what would happen if you just showed up in court with your kids - I mean, if you don't have anywhere to leave them, you don't have anywhere to leave them, right? anon

An alternatve to trying to be excused from jury duty In Alameda County, your notice will tell you to call the night before to find out if you are needed. If you are not (and this is often the case), you have fulfilled your jury duty for at least a year. If you are called and can't go, you have a week to send in a note to explain why, and you could then inform the court that you were unable to find childcare/did not want to leave a nursing baby, whatever. That would give you, at the least, a postponement and when called again you can inform the court that you are still not available for the same reason. This way, you don't have to lie but you still don't have to serve. anon

Jury Duty for stay-at-home mom

May 2002

I have recently been summoned for jury duty for the 5th time in 5.5 years of Alameda County residency and have two questions: 1. I submitted a request for excusal because I am full-time mother to a 24-month old and do not have childcare arrangements in place. In others' experience, does this qualify for excusal? Is there a way to define it in compelling terms so it does qualify? 2. Is anyone aware of quality childcare that can be procured for 1-week or so only and then, on an on-call basis? Or resources for finding such?

I can't imagine finding ''on-call'' childcare on the fly when I have none in place, so to fulfill my civic responsibility would entail $700 a week out of pocket to current p/t sitter (who may not be available) or that my spouse take paid vacation. I'm happy with neither option, especially since I'm called every year. Thanks for any thoughts.

There is a standard excusal which is when you are responsible for caring for another person, including a child. You shouldn't have any problem getting out of jury duty isabel

When I was near the end of my pregnancy I got a notice for jury duty and my OB wrote me a note which excused me. During that time we also talked about other circumstances which would excuse one from jury duty. He suggested if I ever received a notice again and was caring for my young child that I show up the first day with kid in tow and that would get me taken out of the jury pool almost instantly. So being the primary caregiver to a young child does excuse you. Good luck. CJC

in the event that you are a breastfeeding mother, you are exempt from jury duty in the state of california. simply write in ''breastfeeding'' under ''other exemptions''. if you are breastfeeding, i hope this is helpful information for you.

I was recently summoned for jury duty, and had the same questions, because the notice makes it sound like it is not ok to be excused because of childcare concerns. After much debating, I wrote a letter asking to be excused because I am the sole daytime caregiver for small children with no practical possibility of childcare. I never heard from them again, which I am assuming means that I am excused. janet

I have had to be excused from jury duty twice because I take care of my two kids every morning and late afternoon. I wrote a letter explaining this, and it was no problem being excused -- if I remember right there is a box on the form to check that says ''I am responsible for the care of another between the hours of 8 and 5,'' or something like that. I did want to figure out a way to juggle extra child care and do jury duty, but without an on-call babysitter already available for those times it seemed like too much to pull it all together (especially considering you might agree to do jury duty and then not be called at all). Catha

I live in San Francisco and know that here, if you are breastfeeding full-time, you can defer your duty for nine months. However, when you defer, you actually schedule your appearance. My date is in August and if I am actually chosen to go into the courthouse, I'll simply take my son with me and explain that I could not arrange childcare. I'll try to think of it as an adventure for my son and it will be interesting to see what they do with us. Good Luck

I've been called to jury duty in Alameda and Contra Costa counties since my daughter was born 2 years ago. In both counties I wrote in that I took care of my child (in my case, part-time) and had no full-time childcare. Alameda County granted my requests for a leave with no problem; Contra Costa actually called me ''to confirm.'' When I explained that I had no full-time childcare, they agreed to delay my jury duty. You should not have a problem. Christine

When my son was about 7 months old I was called for jury duty. I also had a 4.5 year old. I wrote a letter that started with ''I am requesting to be excused from Jury Duty since I am the primary care giver for two children under five years old. I have limited childcare for the two of them, thus serving on a jury would be impossible at this time.'' I also mentioned the nursing schedule of my little one and the part-time preschool of the older one. I was given an extension (although I have yet to be called and that was 2.5 years ago). I think you should write the letter and explain the financial and logistical hardship of finding care for your child. I figure there will be some day when I can do it. Good luck. Jen

I've been called for jury duty pretty much every year since my now 3-year was born. In fact, no joke, I was called to appear on my due date! And did in fact give birth that day, thankfully not in the courtroom in downtown Oakland! The next year I clearly had a good excuse, and that was that I had a small child with whom I was breastfeeding. When he was two it got a little more difficult because they note on the forms that breastfeeding is not considered an excuse after one year of age. That year my response stated that the World Health Organization's statistics on the average age of weaning world wide was 4 years of age, and that I felt that they should update their archaic system a bit by at least changing it to two years of age. This year and last when he was two and three I also had to include the fact that I had no close relatives in the area, nor had my son been separated from me for more than 6 to 8 hours, and only on a few occasions. For this reason it would not be possible for me to leave him in a daycare situation, nor could I afford to pay for daycare with the miniscule wages that they offer. What is it, about $11.00 a day or something like that? They've got to be kidding!

Footnote: Since my father was a New York police officer for 20 years and quite frequently a police officer is involved with the case, invariably both lawyers think that I am biased either one way or the other. So it is usually a waste of time for me to sit there for a couple of days until my name is called, only to be excused after the first question. I have to admit though, that watching how the lawyers and judge go about the process of elimination is very interesting, and I do hope to be able to observe that process again.

My experience has been that you can be excused if you have a dependent. I believe it is one of the choices that is listed in the section that gives you accepted reasons to be excused. Read it carefully, fill out the form as required and send it in ASAP (if you miss the deadline you can only postpone jury duty). Follow up with a phone call to an actual person (there are phone numbers on the mailing you got, don't just leave a message with voicemail, persist until you speak to someone!). I work fulltime and have childcare, but it doesn't cover the hours of jury duty, and I was still able to be excused. Good luck!

In my experience, they have a box to check on the jury summons card if you are the sole caregiver of a dependent (child or otherwise). They ask you give a detailed explanation in a note below the check box, which worked twice for me. I told them I was a nursing mother and let them imagine both of us showing up for duty. Good luck.

I am a stay at home mom of an 18 month and I also get called to jury duty frequently (in Alameda County). Since having my daughter, I have been called twice. On both occasions I have written a note stating that I care of a young child full time and that having to pay a sitter would be an economic hardship. There was no response from the court after I wrote these notes so I assumed that the excuse was valid.

Financial hardship is a valid excuse for getting out of jury duty.

Regarding jury duty, my wife has been called every year for the past 8 years. We have two kids, she is a stay-at-home mom (we homeschool too, which may not be relevant to your case). An 'excuse' is better than a 'postponement' because they won't bother you again for a year. She writes a letter and attaches it to the notice, stating that she takes care of two young children during weekdays, so she needs to be excused from jury duty. So far she has not been bothered- if you don't hear back from them after sending in your response, everything is ok. Nils

As I understand it, if you are the sole caregiver for someone, you are excused from jury duty. I have been called twice since having my first child 2 years ago. Both times I checked the box stating so, and wrote an explanation in the space provided that I am a full-time, stay-at-home mom of a baby (now 2 babies) and that seemed to be all the information they needed. Heidi

I have been summoned twice in the past few years and have gotten excused both times by writing a letter. The exact language I use is "I have a six-month old baby and a three-year old daughter for whom I care on those two days per week when I am not working (I have a part-time job). Serving on a jury would prevent me from fulfilling my personal obligation to provide care for my daughters. Furthermore, it would require me to locate care for them on days when they are not already in day care, at substantial cost. This would create an extreme financial burden on me." You are welcome to use this language, as it has worked for me.

By the way, you just send in the letter. I have never received a response, so I assume this is enough, as I also have never been cited for jury negligence or whatever it would be. - Jody

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