Ali in OR Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 I've been called to jury duty. Here I will call in on a Saturday to see if I really do indeed need to show up on that Monday morning. Last time this happened they cancelled and I did not need to go. We're just trying to figure out how to manage the 3 kiddos if I do indeed need to go and then get called to be on a jury. Two will be in school from 7:30-3:00. My 12 yo does mostly home school but attends PS classes from ~10:30-12:30. Dh would do the ferrying of kiddos, but just wondering if it's an option for her to be in the courtroom part of the time (watching or reading quietly) or if that's not allowed. Anyone know? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoobie Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 Generally no. Public is not allowed inside voir dire questioning of jurors. The child may be old enough to sit in public spaces in courthouse without being thought abandoned. ;) There should be info on your jurisdiction's court website. Most places excuse homeschooling parents. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valley Girl Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 Most places excuse homeschooling parents. That may be true in some places. It is not the case where I live. If I recall correctly, I was only excused until my youngest reached the age of 12. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lllll Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 (edited) nm Edited December 2, 2015 by ^ 022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 No. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedClams Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 (edited) Mine said no kids. I did get excused for homeschooling, though. I was very straight forward about the ages of my kids with the judge. Edited November 30, 2015 by FriedClams Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 No, you cannot take children. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted November 30, 2015 Author Share Posted November 30, 2015 Thanks all. I think dh will take her to work. I actually want to serve--I don't want to get out of it. It just gets tricky managing the kiddos. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danestress Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 In my jurisdiction, you would have to show up on the appointed day. However, if you were in voir dire, you probably would be excused for cause, particularly if the case were going to be more than a day or two. I would not take a child. Juries are often taken out of the courtroom, sometimes for a good piece of time, while attorneys argue motions, argue about admissibility of evidence, etc. There is no guarantee your daughter would not be left on her own for periods of time. Also, even in a civil trial or a nonviolent crime, there is often evidence that is disgusting, frightening, or vulgar. I got called last year and the case turned out to be allegations medical malpractice resulting in death of a post partum mother. I didn't want to hear that, and no child would either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzanne in ABQ Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 I wouldn't hesitate to leave a mature-ish 12 year old at home. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsuga Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 No, but if for some reason the child can't be left at home, then that information needs to be given right away (and you'll need a reason) because otherwise this could be like, a regular thing. I think it will be hard to manage jury duty with a child who needs supervision. Maybe call a sitter or arrange for her to go elsewhere? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 (edited) Not to open the "when is it okay to leave kids home alone" issue again, but by the time mine were 12 we didn't give a second thought to leaving them home alone for a day. Edited November 30, 2015 by Pawz4me 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah CB Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 I wouldn't hesitate to leave a mature-ish 12 year old at home. That's what I'd do. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TammyS Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 Generally no. Public is not allowed inside voir dire questioning of jurors. The child may be old enough to sit in public spaces in courthouse without being thought abandoned. ;) There should be info on your jurisdiction's court website. Most places excuse homeschooling parents. Not most places, some place. It varies greatly, and even varies in the same place when the person making the decision changes. Where I live, they won't even excuse nursing moms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quint Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 (edited) No. Its good to remember not everyone at jury duty likes kids so even if you can bring them its best not to. Edited November 30, 2015 by Quint Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 Mine always says no children and homeschooling is not an excuse. In fact, one HSing mom took her kids and tried to get out of it and told the judge that she didn't have family in the area and the judge told her, "We will call social services and provide you with childcare." Yikes. I haven't been called to jury duty here. I was called twice in LA but got out of it both times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 I wouldn't hesitate to leave a mature-ish 12 year old at home. :iagree: I'm not understanding why a mature middle school-age kid needs to go along with either parent. Letting her stay at home alone for a few hours that day seems like the most obvious solution, but perhaps there are other factors involved that would make that difficult or unwise. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 Generally no. Public is not allowed inside voir dire questioning of jurors. The child may be old enough to sit in public spaces in courthouse without being thought abandoned. ;) There should be info on your jurisdiction's court website. Most places excuse homeschooling parents. Don't know about most places, but I've been excused for that several times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 Mine always says no children and homeschooling is not an excuse. In fact, one HSing mom took her kids and tried to get out of it and told the judge that she didn't have family in the area and the judge told her, "We will call social services and provide you with childcare." Yikes. I haven't been called to jury duty here. I was called twice in LA but got out of it both times. I'd say oh thank you that'll be very helpful. Because I really do not have anyone around who could help me with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted November 30, 2015 Author Share Posted November 30, 2015 I have no problem leaving the 12 yo at home, except that I need to get her to her public school classes that run from 10:30 to 12:30. We live way too far away for her to get to school on her own. I was just mentally brainstorming all of the ways to manage her--leaving her at home and have dh have to come home to take her to school, take her with me and have him get her there (much closer to his work), etc. In the end, it's easiest for him to have her at work and then take her to school. If I was trying to get out of jury duty, I would use being the caregiver for my severely disabled dd as the excuse. She's in school until 3:00, so this is only an issue if I get caught up in a trial that runs into multiple afternoons (we can handle 1 or 2 with few problems). But I actually want to serve, to use my brain, to do my civic duty, etc. We just need to have things well-planned for all contingencies. The only time I ever served before was a 1 day trial well before kids. I found it very interesting. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SebastianCat Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 I haven't been called for jury duty since I've had kids, but my DH has, so I've thought about the possibility, and I would leave my 13 & 11 year old kids home by themselves, with a neighbor on alert in case of emergency. But I agree that in your situation, getting her to a class would make it more complicated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luuknam Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 Is there a public library anywhere near the courthouse you could leave her at? I know some libraries are insane wrt "unattended minors", but others are more reasonable. Our says "please don't leave children under 6 unattended in children's area", and I'd happily leave a 12yo at that library. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 I thought about the library thing too. Here I think it's 14 though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luuknam Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 I thought about the library thing too. Here I think it's 14 though. Depending on how my 12yo looked, my 12yo might suddenly be "14". (I have little patience for ridiculous policies like that - I walked to the library alone when I was 8yo and it was never an issue) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 Where we are, you cannot bring anyone with you. They only allow the person named to enter the juror's waiting room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 This is probably a dead issue now for the OP but if others are thinking along the same lines - you would have to check with your court to see if it's OK. I doubt it is. But even if it is, it's a terrible place for a kid to have to hang out. In my experiences - maybe 6 in 3 different states - the waiting room, which is where most of the time is spent, is noisy! There is usually a tv on, but there are also people talking loudly, lots of complaining. When I've gone, I can only read magazines or a very light novel, no hard reading or studying (of course your daughter may have better powers of concentration than I do). There are frequent loud announcements. If you were called into jury selection, she would have to stay in the waiting room and thus anyone could approach her to talk. I would never subject my kid to all that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted November 30, 2015 Author Share Posted November 30, 2015 This is probably a dead issue now for the OP but if others are thinking along the same lines - you would have to check with your court to see if it's OK. I doubt it is. But even if it is, it's a terrible place for a kid to have to hang out. In my experiences - maybe 6 in 3 different states - the waiting room, which is where most of the time is spent, is noisy! There is usually a tv on, but there are also people talking loudly, lots of complaining. When I've gone, I can only read magazines or a very light novel, no hard reading or studying (of course your daughter may have better powers of concentration than I do). There are frequent loud announcements. If you were called into jury selection, she would have to stay in the waiting room and thus anyone could approach her to talk. I would never subject my kid to all that. Yeah, that's definitely not what I want for her. I was wondering if she would be allowed to come in and sit with me--thought it might be educational and kind of interesting. But I totally understand the posts that explain why this is not allowed. I wasn't given any information on this at all and we couldn't find anything about rules online, so I appreciate the input from everyone. We will go with a different plan. Thanks all. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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