Help! Jury duty and having doctor appointments?

Question

I have jury duty the first two weeks of June. I already got out of it a while ago since I was breastfeeding my son and the lady I talked to on the phone said I absolutely have to do it in June or a judge will have to get involved. I'm pregnant right now and I just went for my 9 week prenatal visit with my doctor and they told me that I have to make an appointment to get an ultrasound done within my 22nd and 23rd week of pregnancy and those are the exact two weeks that I Have jury duty! I will also have a prenatal visit when I'm 22 weeks along so I don't know what I'm supposed to do!? I need to call to make my appointments today so I need to know what I'm supposed to do.

Answer 1

Well, first make sure that both the court system and your OB/GYN knows the situation.

Aside from that, although a summons to court for jury duty is a civil responsibility, your health (and your children's) takes priority. If you have a legitimate reason for being unable to report, the government can ask you to reschedule. If they still expect you to be there, and you don't show, they have two choices.

They can give you a fine, or hold you in contempt of court, and issue a warrant. It's unlikely the latter would happen if they knew you had a doctor's appointment. If either of those did happen, the worst lawyer in town could get you off scott-free.

Tell the lady that you need to reschedule, preferably after you next child is born. I assume you're on maternity leave - I believe that exempts you from jury duty in the meantime in some states.

Answer 2

You're entitled to your appointment.

Answer 3

You don't do  jury duty if you are pregnant.  It's the law.

**Just call the courthouse, pregnant woman are not allowed t o serve because of the stress factor.

Answer 4

JEEZ do you ever think your life can be inconvenienced by doing your civic duty??? Just show up and say something biassed and you're out of it...I just bet you have it in you...why all the whining?

A doctors visit will take an hour.

Answer 5

Have your doctor write you a note.

Answer 6

Usually, if you haven't had signs of any complications in your pregnancy, you can wait an extra couple of weeks before you have the ultra sound.  I'd reschedule the ultra sound before I'd try to bow out of jury duty, though.  Best not to honk off the judge.  They have the ability to issue bench warrants, which wouldn't be to pleasant if you're pulled over on your way to get the ultra sound.

Answer 7

Ring back the court and tell them you are pregnant, let them know you will be going for scans and see what they say.

Answer 8

there is no way that you'll get in legal trouble for being pregnant...i would go to my appointment.

after you make your appointment, call the jury duty office and see if they can assign you a new case/date and explain your reason why. nobody would put their jury duty before their pregnancy, it's plain wrong. as long as you put all the effort in, you'll be fine.

Answer 9

Most of the advice you are getting is good:  Call the court with the date and time of your appointment.  They may excuse you from selections.  (Added as edit:  Someone said "they have to find a replacement" but that's not completely accurate.  They call in far more people for selection than they expect to seat on the jury.)

By the way, jury duty selection and jury duty service are not the same:  I've had to go in for selections several times over the years.   I was released by noon in some cases.  If your appointment is in the afternoon, you will probably have time to explain to the court that you have an appointment that afternoon, and still make it to the appointment.

Judges are usually understanding:  In one case my mother was visiting from out of state for a couple of weeks, and, because my mother has Alzheimer's disease, I was concerned about serving.  The judge  actually suggested that I request to be allowed to not serve, because they wanted me to be able to concentrate on the testimony rather than worrying if my mother was okay unattended.

In another case, I had served three times in a very short period of time, one on a rather gruesome murder case.  I called because I was in a serious jamb at work (I was a teacher at the time, and we were getting ready for semester tests) and the judge ordered that I be released, and not called again during that term of service.

Just be honest.  Serving is an honor and privilege, so be proud that you live in a country that has this system.  And congratulations on the baby.

Answer 10

explain all that to the court

Answer 11

send in a dr. note

Answer 12

A medical condition or appointment would over-ride jury duty. Make your ultrasound appointment today and then inform the court that you have an existing medical appointment during those two weeks. I can't see them asking you to move your medical appointment when it is time sensitive.

Answer 13

Jury Duty is a must but I think you can aviod it If you're pregnant and you have a doctor's appointment. But you have to provide evidence of your condition to them so they can't make you go. i never had jury duty and i will never be pregnant but that's what I would do.

Answer 14

If you have a good reason, they'll allow you to get out of jury duty. The only reason you would get in trouble is if you just didn't show up. You just need permission.

Answer 15

you better call the courts and let them know.also have your doctor call them if he will and explain your condition.other wise they will issue a warrant to arrest you for failure to show up for jury duty.don;t wait until the last minute get on it now.that way they can find a replacement for you.

Answer 16

Even if the "Judge gets involved" he will still have a heart - talk to them about your condition and concerns - remember: Judges are Elected officials, they do show great sympathy for situations like yours.

Answer 17

Seeing as people get touchy about jury duty maybe you should try to reschedule your doctors appointment? I personally think that the doctors appointment is more important in your case seeing as it is to make sure your unborn child is ok.

Hope this helps!