Adding Insult to Injury

Fandango

I received a jury duty summons in the mail today. Sheesh, when it rains it pours. I’m supposed to show up at the county courthouse on March 6th. What the hell? Don’t these people realize that I’m an old fart who broke his hip and had hip replacement surgery just over three weeks ago. No way am I going to be fit to sit on a jury a month from yesterday. And if they force me to, I’m going to be in pain and in a foul mood and I will vote guilty no matter what the circumstances.

I’ve done jury duty plenty of times in the past, so I’m nor averse to performing this civic duty. But the timing of this summons couldn’t be worse.

On the summons there were instructions on how to postpone, reschedule, or be excused from jury duty. So I went to the website, found the relevant page, and completely the form. Here’s the text of that section:

There is not an age limit to serve as a Juror however, if you are over the age of 70 and are not able to serve please state your Date of Birth and that you have a medical condition that prevents you from serving Jury Duty and you will be excused from service.

Provide your information in the box below.

So here’s what I entered:

My birthdate is mm/dd/yyyy. I broke my left hip on 1/14/23, had hip replacement surgery, and now require a walker to get around. I also injured my right shoulder and am undergoing in-home physical and occupational therapy for at least the next 4-6 weeks for both my hip and shoulder. And then I’ll have outpatient PT for another 2-3 months after that. I am physically unable to comply with this request to serve on a jury per the summons and respectfully request being excused.

I’m now awaiting the outcome of the county’s review of my request to be excused. I hope it will be approved.

41 thoughts on “Adding Insult to Injury”

  2. newepicauthor February 7, 2023 / 3:21 pm

    Just let them know that you are able to feel if a person is guilty or not just by looking at them and then you will be excused.

    Liked by 4 people

    • Marleen February 7, 2023 / 3:53 pm

      🤣

      Liked by 2 people

  3. JT Twissel February 7, 2023 / 3:38 pm

    Generally they let you postpone once. I never get chosen. I go in and sit and wait and wait and then, if I do get seated, I get rejected. But it’s a big hassle to find parking, figure out where to go, etc., etc. Good luck.

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Paula Light February 7, 2023 / 3:47 pm

    I got one too for March. Maybe they’re picking on bloggers ⛈️

    Liked by 1 person

    • Marleen February 7, 2023 / 3:53 pm

      😂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Fandango February 8, 2023 / 12:00 am

      Must be the case! 🤷🏻‍♂️

      Like

  5. Marilyn Armstrong February 7, 2023 / 3:51 pm

    In Massachusetts, if ou are over 65 you don’t have to serve. It may be the same there. All I had to do was ask (online) and I got a permanent pass.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Fandango February 8, 2023 / 12:03 am

      Nope. As the instructions say, “There is not an age limit to serve as a Juror.” But maybe they’ll take pity on a gimpy old fart this time around.

      Like

      • Marilyn Armstrong February 8, 2023 / 8:28 pm

        Gee, sorry about that. There isn’t an age limit here, but a lot of older people don’t drive and they send you to courts that are 50 miles away. My reaction was “Exempt me or arrest me, I ain’t goin’ “

        Liked by 1 person

  6. msjadeli February 7, 2023 / 3:54 pm

    Seems like a pretty sure bet they will excuse you. There is no way you can sit in a chair for hours every day under those conditions.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Fandango February 8, 2023 / 12:04 am

      I hope so, but these days, you never know. Common sense seems to be in short supply.

      Liked by 1 person

  7. Marleen February 7, 2023 / 3:55 pm

    They’ll approve your reasons to be excused.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Kaye Spencer February 7, 2023 / 5:21 pm

      Oh my gosh. You just keep getting pulled through the knothole backwards again and again this year.

      I’m glad you’re steadily healing and getting stronger on your feet.

      Liked by 1 person

      • Fandango February 8, 2023 / 12:06 am

        Thanks, Kaye.

        Like

  8. slmret February 7, 2023 / 4:24 pm

    From my experience, you should be excused. My last summons was shortly before my mother died — I was the primary contact for her, and was needed at her home 150 miles from my SoCal home on short notice. I requested to be excused on the basis that I could not guarantee that I would be in town at the assigned date. That was sufficient, and since I was between 65 and 70 at the time, I’ve never received another summons! Good luck with your request — and let us know when you are excused!

    Liked by 1 person

  10. Sadje February 7, 2023 / 6:18 pm

    They’ll probably excuse you.

    Liked by 2 people

      • Sadje February 8, 2023 / 12:25 am

        Yes otherwise you can send a doctor’s certificate

        Liked by 1 person

  11. jai February 7, 2023 / 7:19 pm

    The last time I was summoned for jury duty, my husband’s health was bad, and has only gotten worse since then. I asked to be excused because I can’t leave him alone for extended periods of time, and was excused. I’m sure you will be as well.

    Liked by 2 people

  12. Marlapaige February 7, 2023 / 7:34 pm

    When you go in just tell them you were anxious about performing your civic duty with such an injury because of the searing pain it causes, but that you have watched 12 Angry Men since you were a child, and you’re fairly sure that you can do your part to support Juror #3, and you won’t back down. Under any circumstances. No matter the case, you know the accused is guilty, and you don’t care what the other 11 think, you KNOW they’re GUILTY. Watch how fast they carefully remove you (being gentle due to your injuries). You’ll be home before your car gets cold lol

    Liked by 1 person

      • Marlapaige February 8, 2023 / 4:53 am

        Thank you! But a word of caution: if the judge and attorneys are too young, they won’t know what that means. They won’t even have watched the remake. If they’re old enough, they might find it funny!

        Liked by 1 person

        • Fandango February 8, 2023 / 7:52 am

          It (the original, I never saw the remake) is an excellent movie.

          Liked by 1 person

          • Marlapaige February 8, 2023 / 1:24 pm

            Wow. Your comment works for both 13 Angry Men AND the movie It…

            Liked by 1 person

  13. leigha66 February 7, 2023 / 8:56 pm

    I am sure they will excuse you. You just can’t physically do it now.

    Liked by 1 person

  14. bushboy February 7, 2023 / 9:45 pm

    Just saying I can’t doesn’t cut it. Here you need a letter from your Dr if medical or from your employer if work related non attendance.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Fandango February 8, 2023 / 12:12 am

      If that’s what they need, I’m sure my doctor can write a letter for me.

      Liked by 1 person

  15. Cynthia February 7, 2023 / 11:03 pm

    LoL…. I sure hope you will be excused. Speedy recovery Fan

    Liked by 1 person

  17. Nope, Not Pam February 8, 2023 / 1:51 am

    I’m sure they’ll excuse you, though you could have added I also suffer from rank farts which will inspire copious amounts of vomiting 😳

    Liked by 1 person

  18. paeansunplugged February 8, 2023 / 2:26 am

    I hope you are healing well, Fandango. My mom had hip replacement surgery sixteen years ago. She is 92 now and perfectly mobile.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Fandango February 8, 2023 / 7:09 am

      Thanks. This gives me hope.

      Like

  19. Irene February 8, 2023 / 6:31 am

    I think you don’t have an excuse, but a legitimate reason. Best of luck, keep us posted!

    Liked by 1 person

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