Some points about my recent jury duty summons notification letter and included information sheet (Part 2 of 2)
Continued from Part 1 of 2
The jury summons includes a statement about weapons that should be rewritten. The line reads, “Absolutely NO weapons (scissors, knives, knitting needles, etc.) are allowed in the Justice Center.” I have transcribed it exactly as written. It seems to me that a person would not be unreasonable in interpreting this line to mean, “Guns are permitted since they aren't listed as a weapon although knives are, and knitting needles are now officially classified by the US Government as a weapon.” A better rewording that treats non-felon citizens as law-abiding human beings would be, “No weapons of any kind are permitted. Regrettably, we are also unable to permit crafting and hobby tools such as scissors or knitting needles that are pointy or sharp. Please consider bringing reading material to help pass the time while waiting to be called for a case that requires your valued services as a juror.”
Most importantly, there is a statement that reads, “Postponement or Excuse from Jury Service MUST be in WRITING no later than 7 Days preceding your Jury date stated above, if none of the Excuse Options below apply to you. Mail Excuse Request and/or Detach and Mail checked excuse below to: Chief District Court Judge, PO Box xxx, etc.” I have transcribed the wording including the bold print and capitalization exactly as it appears.
I have quite a number of concerns with this. First of all, as discussed elsewhere in the book, a significant percentage of the younger (yet age 18+) segment of the population simply does not know how to write at all (I don't count writing a short text message or “tweet” comprised of mostly abbreviations, acronyms, and keywords), let alone know how to put together a formal written letter in which they clearly articulate their situation and/or request. They don't even have the skills needed to fill out a job application that has pre-defined fields and checkboxes. This is a significant and growing societal problem that everyone (including our nation's court districts) insists on ignoring while “burying their faces in the sand” and “kicking the can down the road.”
Many people live in households and have life circumstances such that they can't even afford the price of a postage stamp, or would prefer to spend that same money on half of a double cheeseburger that will provide them with a quick and easy (albeit unhealthy) meal. Many people live in homes that are not stocked with blank paper, pens, envelops, stamps (even if they could afford them), etc. Some homes only have electricity when the homeowner manages to scrape together enough money to walk down to his/her utility payment center and pay his/her bill in cash (or pay a bill collector who came to the door). It is disappointing that the summons does not include an addressed and pre-paid return envelope if the court is going to insist that all correspondence be conducted in writing.
Another point of concern is what the summoned person is supposed to do if s/he becomes sick (perhaps even with a contagious condition) within seven days of his/her date of service. Again, the summons says nothing about calling up and speaking to a human being. I'm sure that the court would rather know the afternoon prior to the date of service (or even early that morning) if the person will not be able to report than to simply have the person not show up, even if a written explanation and/or doctor's note will be forthcoming. It would be understandable if a person who is within the “seven-day window” chose to just disregard the summons, and hope that the matter is not pursued,. Even worse would be if the person chose to drag him/herself into court with his/her contagious condition simply to “get it over with” because s/he felt “forced” or “threatened.”
Rescheduling jury service due to illness or emergency should be as simple as rescheduling a medical appointment. Most doctors permit rescheduling within 24 hours without penalty. Many even permit the rare last-minute illness or emergency cancellation without penalty. When calling a doctor's office, the receptionist works with the caller to reschedule as needed. If the receptionist is unavailable, the patient leaves a voice message, and the call is returned when possible. If courts treated summoned jurors in a similar manner, and acknowledged the financial, logistical, and literacy challenges of contemporary Americans, juror turnout would likely be higher, and jury duty would not trigger such negative emotions amongst The People.
Many of the concerns outlined in this section are revisited in the next section which discusses the jury duty page of the Wake County website.
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The jury summons includes a statement about weapons that should be rewritten. The line reads, “Absolutely NO weapons (scissors, knives, knitting needles, etc.) are allowed in the Justice Center.” I have transcribed it exactly as written. It seems to me that a person would not be unreasonable in interpreting this line to mean, “Guns are permitted since they aren't listed as a weapon although knives are, and knitting needles are now officially classified by the US Government as a weapon.” A better rewording that treats non-felon citizens as law-abiding human beings would be, “No weapons of any kind are permitted. Regrettably, we are also unable to permit crafting and hobby tools such as scissors or knitting needles that are pointy or sharp. Please consider bringing reading material to help pass the time while waiting to be called for a case that requires your valued services as a juror.”
Most importantly, there is a statement that reads, “Postponement or Excuse from Jury Service MUST be in WRITING no later than 7 Days preceding your Jury date stated above, if none of the Excuse Options below apply to you. Mail Excuse Request and/or Detach and Mail checked excuse below to: Chief District Court Judge, PO Box xxx, etc.” I have transcribed the wording including the bold print and capitalization exactly as it appears.
I have quite a number of concerns with this. First of all, as discussed elsewhere in the book, a significant percentage of the younger (yet age 18+) segment of the population simply does not know how to write at all (I don't count writing a short text message or “tweet” comprised of mostly abbreviations, acronyms, and keywords), let alone know how to put together a formal written letter in which they clearly articulate their situation and/or request. They don't even have the skills needed to fill out a job application that has pre-defined fields and checkboxes. This is a significant and growing societal problem that everyone (including our nation's court districts) insists on ignoring while “burying their faces in the sand” and “kicking the can down the road.”
Many people live in households and have life circumstances such that they can't even afford the price of a postage stamp, or would prefer to spend that same money on half of a double cheeseburger that will provide them with a quick and easy (albeit unhealthy) meal. Many people live in homes that are not stocked with blank paper, pens, envelops, stamps (even if they could afford them), etc. Some homes only have electricity when the homeowner manages to scrape together enough money to walk down to his/her utility payment center and pay his/her bill in cash (or pay a bill collector who came to the door). It is disappointing that the summons does not include an addressed and pre-paid return envelope if the court is going to insist that all correspondence be conducted in writing.
Another point of concern is what the summoned person is supposed to do if s/he becomes sick (perhaps even with a contagious condition) within seven days of his/her date of service. Again, the summons says nothing about calling up and speaking to a human being. I'm sure that the court would rather know the afternoon prior to the date of service (or even early that morning) if the person will not be able to report than to simply have the person not show up, even if a written explanation and/or doctor's note will be forthcoming. It would be understandable if a person who is within the “seven-day window” chose to just disregard the summons, and hope that the matter is not pursued,. Even worse would be if the person chose to drag him/herself into court with his/her contagious condition simply to “get it over with” because s/he felt “forced” or “threatened.”
Rescheduling jury service due to illness or emergency should be as simple as rescheduling a medical appointment. Most doctors permit rescheduling within 24 hours without penalty. Many even permit the rare last-minute illness or emergency cancellation without penalty. When calling a doctor's office, the receptionist works with the caller to reschedule as needed. If the receptionist is unavailable, the patient leaves a voice message, and the call is returned when possible. If courts treated summoned jurors in a similar manner, and acknowledged the financial, logistical, and literacy challenges of contemporary Americans, juror turnout would likely be higher, and jury duty would not trigger such negative emotions amongst The People.
Many of the concerns outlined in this section are revisited in the next section which discusses the jury duty page of the Wake County website.
Go to Next Topic
Go to Table to Contents