Nursing mamas, what to do about jury duty?

700 Views 12 Replies 11 Participants Last post by SingingMama, Jun 4, 2005

SingingMama

Discussion Starter · Jun 1, 2005

I just got a notice today that I'm called to jury duty in August. The problem is that my DD just turned one, and she still nurses a lot. She has never taken a bottle, and has never been given breastmilk out of a sippy cup. I have only been away from her a handful of times, and those were short times when she was with DH. I can't imagine being away form her for a whole day, and what would I do about feeding her? She eats a decent about of solids now that she's one, but not enough to do without breastmilk for a whole day (not to mention she would probably get very upset if she was looking for me and couldn't find me). I do have the option to postpone jury duty for up to a year, but my DH is a teacher and is very limited in terms of when he would be available to watch DD, and we don't have any family in the area to watch her. Besides, I'm not sure how long she will be nursing for, and it is very possible that, if I rescheduled, I would still have the same dilemma. Does anyone have a similar experience they could share with me, and what you did? Thanks?

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Barefoot Farmer

· #2 · Jun 1, 2005

Hey there SingingMama

I saw your post and just had to reply! I actually had a similar dilemma when dd was about 9 mo old; I postponed for up to the year mark and when I inquired as to "what do I do if I'm still BF at that point?" the clerk told me I could get a doctor's notice. I know different states deal with this differently (several states are just down right inconsiderate of nursing/SAHM situations), but MA seems pretty open in that regards. Best of luck

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SingingMama

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jun 1, 2005

Thanks, AliciaO. I'm glad to hear that MA is flexible enough to accommodate breastfeeding mamas. I will try that.

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mbravebird

· #4 · Jun 1, 2005

If you have trouble, there should also be some advocacy groups in your state that will help you with jury duty exemption! You should be exempt.

If all else fails, you could always show up to jury selection with your nursing child.

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mom2threenurslings

· #5 · Jun 1, 2005

In many states all you have to do is say that you're the primary caregiver for your child and don't have any other child care available. Breastfeeding doesn't even need to be mentioned.

I live in CT and have never had a problem declining to serve jury duty.

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lupineperriwinkle

· #6 · Jun 1, 2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by mom2threenurslings
In many states all you have to do is say that you're the primary caregiver for your child and don't have any other child care available. Breastfeeding doesn't even need to be mentioned.

I live in CT and have never had a problem declining to serve jury duty.

I live in CT too. I was exempted as the primary caregiver.

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Marielena

· #7 · Jun 2, 2005

From my experience in two different states, it REALLY depends on the state, and many times even the district.

A good site/organization that is working for more family and bf-friendly jury laws is
http://www.familyfriendlyjuryduty.org

A link to the info about MA is
http://www.familyfriendlyjuryduty.or...s/page0013.htm

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thepeach80

· #8 · Jun 2, 2005

My DH just called and I was reading over his stuff. All I would have to do is say I'm the primary caregiver like someone else mentioned and that it would cause severe hardship (as it will if DH has to go everyday and doesn't get paid at work, I kinda hope he doesn't actually have to serve). Do you realize they only give you $40 a day! My DH makes more than that in a few hours if he's not getting overtime.

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athansor

· #9 · Jun 2, 2005

I'm in the same boat, maybe...I've had to fill out a questionnaire for district court jury duty. (I already got out of jury duty once when ds was only a few weeks old, but that was a county court, and I was actually excused because of a mistake in districting).

I called the district court, and if I'm selected, there is no exemption in our state for nursing mothers. I'm also in a weird position, because I work full time out of the home, but bring ds to work with me every day, so he's never been to a daycare and I don't have any sort of daycare lined up. He's 7 months old now. I can be called anytime within the next two years, and if he's still small enough, I'm tempted to bring him with me in the carrier!

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RedWine

· #10 · Jun 2, 2005

Hi, I'm in MA and I got called for jury duty too. I postponed it for a year, when my now 2 month old will be 13 months. I figure by then, my husband will be able to handle her for a few hours. And I plan to make it a few hours (not the whole day). I may even try to bring her with me in a sling, if they stop me at the door then I'll explain that she's still nursing and she needs mama. I'll bring my husband just in case, I can at least nurse her during breaks. I guess I don't have any words of advice, 'cause I'll be in the same boat a year from now. I've never done this in MA, so I don't know what the procedure is. It sucks we can't get an exemption, doesn't it?

I doubt I'll actually be selected for a trial, since I'm very opinionated about everything (especially when it comes to jury selection time...I've no qualms about trying to get out of it, since I am a SAHM and there should be an exemption for us!).

Good luck, do me a favor and let us know what you decide and how it goes.

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mamanOiseau

· #11 · Jun 2, 2005

When I was called for jury duty, I hadn't understood that I could postpone for a full year, so I postponed for a few months, thinking I would be able to leave my baby at that point. When the time came, no child care was available, and anyway, my baby screamed his head off whenever I was away (for the duration). He must have been 6mo at that point.

So I went with my 2 kids. The lady frowned at me, but since I very nicely explained I had no solution, she let me go at that. Ouf ! This was in MA, btw.

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kkar

· #12 · Jun 3, 2005

I was called for Jury Duty last month, and all I did was call, explain my situation, and I was excused over the phone, no problem...

k.

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SingingMama

Discussion Starter · #13 · Jun 4, 2005

Well, for those of you who were curious how it ended up, I called today and found out that I was disqualified beacuse they had my old address on the summons, and we've moved to a new county.

Whew! I guess I should have read over the info they sent me more carefully. :LOL But who has time to do that? I fully expect to be hearing from our new county's courthouse soon, but you never know...

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