So,today in the mail I receive a notification that I have been selected for two weeks of eligibility for jury duty in Federal Court.

So I fill out the questionnaire and I requested an age exemption as I’m 73 for a few months now.
Did this online, nowhere on the notification does it say I will be notified if I am exempted, only that I have to call in after 6 P.M.for the two weeks of eligibility.

Will I get a letter from them if I am excused? I tried calling the number on the notice and in typical government fashion the prompts only put me into a loop, I was never able to get a live person.

I believe the age is 75,but I am not sure. I doubt they will send a letter in response to your request.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
I believe the age is 75,but I am not sure. I doubt they will send a letter in response to your request.

No, it says over 73 in the notification but when you call in and get the recorded message it says 73 or older.

From US courts.gov:

Excuses
Most district courts offer permanent excuses from service, on individual request, to designated groups of persons or occupational class on grounds that service by such class or group would entail undue hardship or extreme inconvenience to the members thereof. Such groups may include persons over age 70; persons who have, within the past two years, served on a federal jury; and persons who serve as volunteer firefighters or members of a rescue squad or ambulance crew.

quote:

Originally posted by shovelhead:
So,today in the mail I receive a notification that I have been selected for two weeks of eligibility for jury duty in Federal Court.

So I fill out the questionnaire and I requested an age exemption as I’m 73 for a few months now.
Did this online, nowhere on the notification does it say I will be notified if I am exempted, only that I have to call in after 6 P.M.for the two weeks of eligibility.

Will I get a letter from them if I am excused? I tried calling the number on the notice and in typical government fashion the prompts only put me into a loop, I was never able to get a live person.

Just curious why you don’t want to serve? I serve any chance I get and shocked when I get selected due to being in law enforcement. I have served on local criminal petit juries, county grand jury, and been called for federal jury selection, but when I showed for federal jury selection, I was not selected due to my employment as the judge said they didn’t think I could be impartial, which is stupid because as an investigator I am 100% impartial to anything but the facts. Oh well.

My BIL is a Federal Judge and I can pose your question to him if you want.

Norman, a lot of reasons that I don’t feel comfortable discussing here, some family, some physical/health related of mine. Suffice to say that my health issues do affect my daily life and have for many years.

quote:

Originally posted by shovelhead:
Norman, a lot of reasons that I don’t feel comfortable discussing here, some family, some physical/health related of mine. Suffice to say that my health issues do affect my daily life and have for many years.

Understandable.

Norman,

And on the “lighter” side of this, I have no suitable clothing to wear. My wardrobe (seriously) consists of jeans, athletic shoes (too many years on concrete floors) t-shirts both long sleeve and short sleeve and sweatshirts. Only collared shirts I have are emblazoned with the names Vortex, Leupold and Sig Sauer, none of which I assume would be acceptable.

When I retired in 2017 I took all my well worn work casual clothing items and trashed them, I purposely didn’t replace any of them in the last year I worked. I’d have to buy new clothing only to get rid of it right away.

I had to testify as a witness (sworn in) in a local family court hearing earlier this year regarding my grandson and his father, my daughter’s ex. Fortunately they did not have a dress code, I wore jeans and a sweat shirt.

quote:

Originally posted by shovelhead:
Norman,

And on the “lighter” side of this, I have no suitable clothing to wear. My wardrobe (seriously) consists of jeans, athletic shoes (too many years on concrete floors) t-shirts both long sleeve and short sleeve and sweatshirts. Only collared shirts I have are emblazoned with the names Vortex, Leupold and Sig Sauer, none of which I assume would be acceptable.

When I retired in 2017 I took all my well worn work casual clothing items and trashed them, I purposely didn’t replace any of them in the last year I worked. I’d have to buy new clothing only to get rid of it right away.

I was called for federal jury service in early April this year. I've put on a few pounds and my sport jacket didn't fit very well....so I went out and bought a new one. They texted 4 days before that my service was cancelled. Now I need to go wear that sport jacket somewhere.....

The expectation is for professionals in the courtroom to dress accordingly, and anyone represented by an attorney will be instructed by their attorney to dress nicely as well, but typically there is not a dress code for jurors or lay witnesses. As long as you're not wearing something obscene or ridiculously overly casual, they won't bar you from entry or think poorly of you.

(Though I understand that culturally, some folks feel they must dress up for court/church/etc. as a sign of respect and good upbringing.)

This message has been edited. Last edited by: RogueJSK,

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
The expectation is for professionals in the courtroom to dress accordingly, and anyone represented by an attorney will be instructed by their attorney to dress nicely as well, but typically there is not a dress code for jurors or lay witnesses. As long as you're not wearing something obscene, they won't bar you from entry or think poorly of you.

(Though I understand that culturally, some folks feel they must dress up for court/church/etc. as a sign of respect and good upbringing.)

Not according to the website:
Information For Jurors Frequently Asked Questions

What do I wear to court?
Jurors are expected to dress in a manner reflective of the formality of the court proceedings and to preserve the dignity of the Court. Business casual attire is acceptable. Clothing such as tank or halter tops, plunging necklines, shorts, t-shirts, blue jeans, sweatpants, flip-flops, or sneakers is not appropriate wear while you are sitting as a juror. You may wish to bring a sweater or jacket as temperatures vary in the courtrooms. No hats are permitted in the courtroom during any proceedings.

Just attend in person on selection day and tell them your age qualifies for what is considered a hardship and you should be exempted. It'll cost you a few hours but you'll be excused from jury duty.

2 or 3 years ago, I had jury duty for the county in January and 3 months later had jury duty for the Feds. I was seated on a jury for the county but did not get selected by the feds (I was in last row and they seated jury before they got to my row).

I dressed in dockers and a button up shirt for both. Both times there was a wide range of dress. Everything from jeans and t-shirts to sport coat, collared shirt, and slacks. Jury selection day, I even saw camo shirts.

quote:

Originally posted by shovelhead:
Not according to the website:
Information For Jurors Frequently Asked Questions

That may be the official line, but I work in several federal courts, and some jurors commonly wear casual clothing. To a reasonable extent, like plain t-shirt and jeans. Likely wouldn't get away with a tank top and gym shorts, or pajamas, or a Budweiser "Babes and Brews" shirt.

It was the same in local courts, when I worked there.

So don't let your lack of a suit or other more formal clothing prevent you from reporting for jury duty. Jeans and a plain tshirt or a collared shirt with a modest logo on one side of the chest would be fine.

quote:

Originally posted by shovelhead:
Norman, a lot of reasons that I don’t feel comfortable discussing here, some family, some physical/health related of mine. Suffice to say that my health issues do affect my daily life and have for many years.

I fully understand your issue. I have Heart Disease and had a Cardiac Ablation to resolve issues with AFIB. Due to the excess of anticoagulants prescribed in addition to AFIB I also have issues with Gastric bleeding. As a result of all this mess I now have 2 cardiologists and a gastroenterologist that I have to see. As a consequence I have not had 2 weeks free of having an appointment or test that has to be delt with. So, yeah, I cannot participate in a Federal Trial. Because there is not one single Federal Judge who will give me a day or two off for something like a Heart Cath. or just an appointment.

Found another phone number for the court this morning. Called and was told I’m excused.

^^^ Excused from that group or pool but still subject to recall for the next one, or released from service altogether?

Don’t know for positive. At least this time.