Shenan Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 My dear husband has been called up for Jury Duty. He actually was looking forward to this honor until......he realized that it WILL create a financial hardship on our family. The court did reduce the amount of time for him to serve from 3 months down to 1 week. :glare: However.... Dh only receives one week of vacation a year. Which we like to hold onto for emergencies/sick time. They are requiring him to serve one week in Feb. If he used his vac. time he would not get his week back until Dec. of that year. He does not receive sick leave or comp time. Basically..if you don't work you don't get paid! Dh commutes 2 hours to work. He leaves at 3 am to be to work by 5:30am. The paperwork they sent will require him to call in at 8 am every morning to see if he is needed at 9am. So going to work and then leaving will not be an option. He WILL have to stay home in order to be available. Jury Duty pays only $40 a day IF he is called in. He will have to go an entire week without pay which will place us in a financial hardship! It takes 2 paychecks to pay the mortgage for a modest home. One to pay the bills (we have a lot of medical, Rx's bills, Approx. $150-$200 a month, which we manage without credit cards, so we have 0 debt except for our mortgage) and one pays for our gas and groceries for the month. We have sent ALL this information in to the Clerk. They have denied his request to be excused! Somebody tell me there's another way out? I am literally about to cry over this. Times are tough as it is and NOW the Judicial system is requiring us to give up a weeks worth of pay. Oh!... and even though he goes without pay for a week he still has to pay for his health insurance premiums ($162 a week). That would have to come out of our pocket (which is VERY empty) even though we will have a $0 income for that week. All of this has been explained verbally and in writing to the Clerk of the Court. Their response to us "I know,... it's rough,... isn't it?" :banghead: So are we totally scr*wed or what? Do I start looking for a loan so we can eat that month? (which we couldn't afford to pay back) I can't believe the clerk could care less whether our 6 kids have food on the table that month or even a roof over their heads. We could fall even farther behind on our mortgage. Somebody help? Give me hope.....:crying: or tell me how to get by on $0 and still feed the kids and pay our health ins. premium for that week.:crying: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudoMom Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 Can't he take his week of vacation then? I totally understand it's not ideal, but hopefully any emergencies or things that came up during the rest of the year would be one day at a time instead of an entire week. Can he go into work late if he's not called in? I'm sorry :grouphug:. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kat19 Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 Some employers will take the jury duty check and issue a regular check..is this not an option? Jury Duty here you only get $10/day, they are trying to get it raised. I hope it all works out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danestress Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 He/she doesn't have the legal power to excuse you based on what you have told her. He/she hears the a dozen times a day, and there is nothing he/she can do to help you because there is no legal way for her to say you don't have to show up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacqui in mo Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 It would take a miracle to get out of the jury duty. Is there someone above the county clerk to speak with? I'm so sorry this puts such a strain on you. Is there a way one or both of you could get a temporary part time evening/weekend job starting now to build up a small nest egg to tide you over for the jury duty week? Do you have a church that you attend? Maybe this would be a time to give friends the blessing of being able to bless you with some help. (((Shenan)))) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shenan Posted December 11, 2008 Author Share Posted December 11, 2008 Can't he take his week of vacation then? I totally understand it's not ideal, but hopefully any emergencies or things that came up during the rest of the year would be one day at a time instead of an entire week. Can he go into work late if he's not called in? I'm sorry :grouphug:. No, because he usually ends up using 90% of his vacation time for snow days. And January snow comes before Feb. :glare: We can only hope for 0 snow and ice this year. And since were suppose to receive an inch of snow with a tenth inch of ice tonight..I just don't see the 0 snow thing happening.;) (BTW, dh is staying with a friend who lives 30 minutes from his job site this evening so he will be able to arrive to work tomorrow) Its a 2 hour drive for him to work. That's IF there isn't any Northern VA traffic issues. So by the time he arrived he would only have about 2-3 hours to complete an 8-10 hour job task. They close the job site around 2-3 pm. He wouldn't be able to start a task and finish it. He would just be there in time to do nothing. He would feel like he was stealing from the company. He's a commercial HVAC Install Superintendant. He puts in tractor trailer-small house sized air conditioning/heating units. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shenan Posted December 11, 2008 Author Share Posted December 11, 2008 Some employers will take the jury duty check and issue a regular check..is this not an option? Jury Duty here you only get $10/day, they are trying to get it raised. I hope it all works out. That's the first thing we checked on. The answer from his Human Resources dept. was "NO!". However, we have asked HR to draft us a letter to see if that may possibly persuade them into excusing him.... We are not resting our hopes on that though. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMW Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 When I served in jury duty in California, about 40-50 people showed up Mon. morning. The judge announced the 13 to come forward for interview for the case. He went through each of those 13 and each one was given a chance to present why he/she could not serve on the jury. 2 out of the 13 called stated to the judge how much money they made per day, the size of their family, their income/bills ratio and if anyone else in the home had income. The judge excused them for financial hardship. If your husband goes in prepared, he might get excused from the judge, but it's the judge's choice... If it is like my experience... Those who were not called to participate in the trial when the final jury was decided were thanked for their time and excused... end of the deal. Best wishes, it can be frustrating! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shenan Posted December 11, 2008 Author Share Posted December 11, 2008 It would take a miracle to get out of the jury duty. Is there someone above the county clerk to speak with? I'm so sorry this puts such a strain on you. Is there a way one or both of you could get a temporary part time evening/weekend job starting now to build up a small nest egg to tide you over for the jury duty week? Do you have a church that you attend? Maybe this would be a time to give friends the blessing of being able to bless you with some help. (((Shenan)))) With the economy the way it is I checked into a job several months ago.. We live in a very rural area. Locally, no one is hiring...and it is a 33 mile one-way drive to the nearest town in a 12 mpg gas guzzler to earn only $7.30 an hour. When the gas prices dropped below $3 a gallon, I started putting in applications again but nobody is hiring. Most are downsizing... I did get an interview with Wallyworld and they were irritated with me because I was not available to work on Sunday. Even though I was available EVERY EVENING of the rest of the week. They said 'they would call me, not to call them'. (literally..they said that to me):001_huh: I will keep trying though... While refreshing the web page the thought of turning to our church popped into my head but...there are soooo many in our tiny church who are worse off $$ than we are (it's a very rural area), so I don't even know if they would be able to help much, if any. I just don't know what to do.....except to keep praying......*SIGH!* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shenan Posted December 11, 2008 Author Share Posted December 11, 2008 When I served in jury duty in California, about 40-50 people showed up Mon. morning. The judge announced the 13 to come forward for interview for the case. He went through each of those 13 and each one was given a chance to present why he/she could not serve on the jury. 2 out of the 13 called stated to the judge how much money they made per day, the size of their family, their income/bills ratio and if anyone else in the home had income. The judge excused them for financial hardship. If your husband goes in prepared, he might get excused from the judge, but it's the judge's choice... If it is like my experience... Those who were not called to participate in the trial when the final jury was decided were thanked for their time and excused... end of the deal. Best wishes, it can be frustrating! We sent them ALL of this information! We spelled it all out for them. Included proof of our mortgage that's already being paid late, our outrageous medical bills, and even told them that we may not be able to cover our medical Rx's or put food on the table for 6 kids if we go without a paycheck. Their response was "I know...it's rough..isn't it?":glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amy g. Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 My friend is a judge. She told me to say, "My conscience prevents me from passing judgment on another human being". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shenan Posted December 11, 2008 Author Share Posted December 11, 2008 My friend is a judge. She told me to say, "My conscience prevents me from passing judgment on another human being". LOL!!!!:lol:I will pass that one on to dh!! Biblically speaking.... that is soooo true! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnetteB Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 I like that last idea. My dh asked to be excused last year due to hardship and was excused. He works for a small company, just he and his employer and there was no way they could get by without him or pay him for doing nothing. Oregon seems to have a heart in these matters. I have asked and been excused now for years. Usually, I could plead a nursing baby, but the last two times I have cited that I am the full-time provider of care and schooling for our children. You shouldn't have to incur debt! Can you go over this person's head ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacqui in mo Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 Hmm, could you do the jury duty and your 18 yo babysit/teach? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shenan Posted December 11, 2008 Author Share Posted December 11, 2008 Hmm, could you do the jury duty and your 18 yo babysit/teach? Probably not....Technically speaking, I am not a 'resident' in this county, state..... It's a long and somewhat controversial story.....:D Dd 18 (soon to be 19) has married and moved out. *sniff, sniff* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 Hmm, could you do the jury duty and your 18 yo babysit/teach? We tried that here, and they said we can't "trade." I was called and can't serve because of dc, so I offered dh up instead, as his employer pays for jury duty. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 I would use vacation time and then just have non-paid snow days. At least they would be more spread out than a week without pay. Can you ask the clerk about finding out earlier if he will be needed? Surely they know before that morning if he is needed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafiki Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teamturner Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 I'm so sorry you are having to deal with this. My dh has been called to jury duty several times in the last few years and he gets released after being there just an hour. He never gets picked past the first round, in other words. I think if all else fails, he should do his best to not get picked ;). Blessings! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OHGrandma Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 Google is your friend... It appears you live in WV? I found this: http://www.legalreforminthenews.com/Tort%20Profiles/Sept07/WV_Tort_Laws.htm "Are the grounds for obtaining an excuse from service closely defined?" No. "A person may be excused from jury upon a showing of “undue hardship, extreme inconvenience, or public necessity.†W. Va. Code § 52-1-11(b). " Do some more searching on that WV code, 52-1-11(b), that may be your husbands excuse because it certainly sounds like an undue hardship on your family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shenan Posted December 12, 2008 Author Share Posted December 12, 2008 Dh spoke with an attorney friend/acquaintance this evening. He lives in the same county as we do and laughed at dh because he too was sequestered.:001_huh: He didn't have any suggestions..He's trying to get out of it too. :001_huh: He said that dh will need to show up the first day and hope the judge will release him for undue hardship. Hopefully dh will only have to take the ONE day off and the judge will release him for the rest of the week. So now I ask for prayers that the Lord will provide dh with a really nice, cool, lenient judge on that day! Oh...and I am going to suggest to dh to bring the largest Bible he can find with him.;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just a Jen in Mississippi Posted December 12, 2008 Share Posted December 12, 2008 Sending prayers your way. My dh just did this the week of Thanksgiving. He was there most of one day, but he was not picked. The victim actually had our same last name so I was pretty sure they wouldn't want him, plus he has served on a jury before where they found a man guilty (they did ask him this). With those two things alone, I figured the defense wouldn't go for him . I'm thinking they will let your dh off, even if they don't excuse him immediately. I know this one lady that was there with my dh and she was going out of town that week. The judge said he was keeping her "for now", but she was not picked either. I've been let off twice for not having child care. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted December 13, 2008 Share Posted December 13, 2008 Can you find out what reasons they do excuse people for? Dh has had his employeer write a letter before and that helped to delay his duty to a more appropriate week for him. I know others who have done similar. I have been excused as a parent with a special needs foster child. There are a lot of reasons that it can be excused or rescheduled. In our state you have to appear the first day and ask the judge to excuse you to get a complete forgiveness, but is is pretty easy to get it moved to another time. Good luck, maybe you could call the clerk and ask about exceptions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted December 13, 2008 Share Posted December 13, 2008 We can schedule jury duty when it is more convenient sometimes. If he is on near Christmas the cases might be cancelled. I have friends that are teachers. They reschedule for the last week in August and usually everything is cancelled. I wish well in figuring this out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fivetails Posted December 13, 2008 Share Posted December 13, 2008 Don't they ask questions like "have you formed an opinion about this case?" or stuff like that? (all I know of jury duty is from movies)..Get him to answer with some sort of "yeah I bet that guy is guilty as all heck" and I bet they won't want him on the jury :tongue_smilie:.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peek a Boo Posted December 13, 2008 Share Posted December 13, 2008 If he's not released for undue hardship, DO turn to the church. Let THEM decide whether they can help you and others, but DO make your needs known. Don't deny them the opportunity to be a blessing ;) And if nothing else, he SHOULD make that drive in to work even if it's only 2-3 hours. He's not "stealing" from the company unless they specifically refuse to pay him for that time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leah Posted December 13, 2008 Share Posted December 13, 2008 Even though I am all for everyone taking their turn for jury duty, I know it can be such a hardship. So he can always just tell the judge that he believes strongly in jury nullification, judges usually don't like that. Or he can bring some nice radical book to read-either far right or far left and one of the lawyers will probably recuse him. My experience here in CA is that IF you aren't excused during the first day due to a low case load, you still have a good shot at getting excused during the jury selection process. I pray that it all works out for the family! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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