P.L. asks from Schaumburg, IL on August 21, 2011
Jury Duty - Schaumburg,IL
My husband was summoned for the second time, but he can't go, for the reason that he is the sole bread winner and an apprentice right now, supporting a family of 5.If he doesn't go to work, he doesn't get paid. He took off one day in August already, another day would be really bad.
He wrote them a letter about our situation, but we didn't hear back from them, his date would be tomorrow.
What should he do???
So What Happened?™
yes he would get paid, what 17 Dollars ?? That would not really help our bills : (
He wrote a letter explaining our situation, he called earlier, punched in his jury number and the system couldn't find it, so maybe they excepted the letter and took him out of the system ???
he called right away, but they said he has to write a letter, so I hope, we did everything right ??
Featured Answers
S.A. answers from Chicago on August 21, 2011
nothing will happen. They can't prove you received the summons unless they send it by registered mail.
I receive a summons every now and again. I always write them a letter explaining that I am the sole caretaker for my children and will not be available for quite some time. I never hear back from them, and I never show up. It's no problem.
If he's nervous about it, have him call and ask if they received his letter explaining he's not able to serve.
2 moms found this helpful
V.C. answers from Dallas on August 21, 2011
Be careful about asking to be let go. Once a lady asked to be dismissed because she was moving out of the county the next day. They picked her to be on the panel!
Chances are he won't be picked and can still make it to work.
1 mom found this helpful
M.L. answers from Houston on August 21, 2011
By law, he has to get compensated for going. It's usually a smaller percentage of his typical pay. Better to go than not and he can talk to whoever is in charge . If they got the letter, he can be dismissed and go straight to work.
1 mom found this helpful
More Answers
A.S. answers from Boca Raton on August 21, 2011
I would show up and ask to speak to the duty judge, and then plead extreme hardship. If that doesn't work, and he gets on a panel - I would mention it again during voir dire. I.e., - "my family will not eat if I'm not working - literally." I would be very vocal about it.
I would not *not* show up.
5 moms found this helpful
C.O. answers from Washington DC on August 21, 2011
he needs to go...if he doesn't show - he may be in trouble. In VA, you call the night prior to find out if your number is in the "section" of numbers. In VA if you are a no-show - a bench warrant is issued for your arrest. It's your civic duty.
In the State of Illinois it appears a bench warrant can be issued. Call the number at the top of the notice and tell them what is going on. Write the name and date of the person you spoke with - but really - DO NOT ignore it and DO NOT do a NO SHOW....
EDIT: Just do you know - the courts WILL state the address they have on record is true and correct - so IF you say you didn't get it - they won't care.
5 moms found this helpful
G.S. answers from New York on August 21, 2011
I made the mistake of listening to my mom about not worrying about those notices and throwing them out like she did, well I ended up receiving a notice that I was in contempt of court and thankfully we had moved to a different county so I was cleared of anything. My husband has had to go a number of times and they do understand that you are losing quite a bit of money with your job, it's best to go and explain that then to disregard it and have something happen.
4 moms found this helpful
S.A. answers from Chicago on August 21, 2011
nothing will happen. They can't prove you received the summons unless they send it by registered mail.
I receive a summons every now and again. I always write them a letter explaining that I am the sole caretaker for my children and will not be available for quite some time. I never hear back from them, and I never show up. It's no problem.
If he's nervous about it, have him call and ask if they received his letter explaining he's not able to serve.
2 moms found this helpful
C.W. answers from Phoenix on August 21, 2011
his work has to let him go.....and most places will pay you for the day also. plus if he is picked he does get paid after the 1st day i think
2 moms found this helpful
T.F. answers from Dallas on August 22, 2011
He should go. Most likely he won't be there all day.
Around here you check your jury number on the website and it tells you if you are dismissed (due to a settlement or something else).
I've been summoned several times and I make the time to go do my duty as a citizen. I was picked once and I was there for a week but I learned so much about the system, met some wonderful people and had a good experience. It is not all bad...
2 moms found this helpful
R.C. answers from Phoenix on August 21, 2011
Please check the website on his summons. I was summoned last month and didn't find out I had been dismissed until the day of selection. I was really sweating it because they never notified me in writing about acceptance of my letter requesting to be excused. I'm a SAHM of 3 with husband that works full-time, sometimes OOT overnight. The website had a jury profile section that told me that I had been excused. Best wishes.
2 moms found this helpful
D.B. answers from Charlotte on August 21, 2011
I was out of the country when I got a summons in NC a couple of years ago. I filled out the form, explaining that I was not in the US. We didn't hear anything back. I didn't fly back to the US to go to jury duty. Nothing happened.
Now, a few months ago, I was summoned AGAIN for grand jury duty. That's the big cahoona! I filled out a 2 sided form, explaining that I no longer live in NC with my new address. This time I DID get a letter telling me that I was excused.
I don't know if there is a difference in regular jury duty and grand jury duty here in Illinois. I do agree with the ladies to not just ignore it. I hope there is a phone number to call so that you can at least see if his block of numbers is called.
Good luck,
D.
1 mom found this helpful
Email