dimondites

I don’t think sharing notes about how to get dismissed is considered cheating, is it?

First of all, it all depends on the judge. One judge walked into the waiting area, had dismissal submissions processed right away as not to waste time. I wish I were that lucky. However, this must have been a big deal case. They’ve interviewed 320 potential jury members over three months. The case was warned to last approximately six months.  

My judge, he has more time and patience. We have to sit through an entire welcome proceeding before we can submit dismissal requests. We had to fill out the ten-page questionnaire first, as well. It was more about not wasting their time, not yours. I had a feeling even if my dismissal request did not get approved, I would have been rejected anyway because of the personal prejudices I had regarding this particular case. I will share this in a later post. 

What was my excuse for getting dismissed? Well, I am self-employed, and I support another person in my household. I just started consulting, so not working could result in losing my clients. I think that is fair.  

How about others? Here are the cases that did not get dismissed.

1. An older gentleman announced he has incontinence issues. He wears diapers and needs restroom access on a regular basis. The judge asked him, “How did you go through it today, sitting in my courtroom?” The man responded, a tad annoyed, “Well, I peed all over myself.”  (Yes, we all immediately scooted away from him.) (And I tried really hard not to laugh.)  I was amazed he did not get dismissed.
2. “I am an important executive at an internet start-up. The business will suffer without me.” Here’s the judge’s view on this, “I’m sure if your plane crashes, the company will still go on without you. And if it doesn’t, that company shouldn’t be around anyway.”
   
3. Teachers do not automatically get dismissed. That’s what subs are for, according to the Judge.
4. “I have a daughter who is in pre-school.” If her pre-school hours are the same as court hours, then nope, doesn’t work.
5. “I am a single mother with a dependent, and I will not get paid to serve jury duty.” He’ll ask if you get child support. If you do, he won’t dismiss you.
6. I have a planned vacation. This works if you have proof via booked airfares. If not, you’re out of luck.

You do have to show proof of your excuse, so bring it with you to save time. If you are self-employed, a formal letter on your company stationery will suffice. If you don’t have it that day, you have 24 hours to submit proof (which I forgot, oops).

I forgot one trick. My friend A. didn’t fill out any paperwork when he entered the waiting area (quite unintentionally). His name was left off the list, so they dismissed him to avoid additional paperwork. Yeah, I know. Good one.