Jury Duty ... really?

Wedgeworth

Hello, I am Wedgworth and this is my first time at this forum. I am very stressed out at getting a jury summons to

begin in a couple of weeks. I have served on a jury (a criminal trial that lasted several weeks and three times on grand jury), so

I have never shirked my "civic duty." Right now I don't have the energy for it and want my doctor to write me an excuse. I was

told today he probably won't do it. I am back at work after recovery from the hystrectomy and debulking surgery and eight cycles

of chemo. I have just enough stamina to go to work and come home. No overtime. I am sixty-five and can't afford to retire.  I sometimes feel I am expected to push myself

as if I didn't spend the past sixth months coping with stage 4 ovarian cancer while working.  I would

just like to find out if anyone has any tips or insights as to how to cope with this jury duty thing? Thank you.

LorettaMarshall

Wedgeworth~Seems your doc lacks compassion~shame on him

Dear Wedgeworth ~

Knowing what it is like to have a hysterectomy, debulking surgery, and having just finished my 4^th cycle of chemotherapy, I know exactly how you feel.  Each time I finish a cycle, I am weaker than I was before.  I never regain my “full energy” back.  And with a Stage IV Ovarian cancer diagnosis, I am not worrying about a “recurrence” because my cancer is never completely wiped out.  With God’s help, I’ve been “coping” with this cancer since November of 2012.  I’m glad to be alive, but only another cancer patient can fully “appreciate” it when you say, “I’m tired.”

So first, have you already asked your doctor to sign a waiver for you?  If not, you should ask for that now.  It would be unthinkable that he would refuse to help you in that regard!  If this is your oncologist, all the more reason he should understand.  Let him trade places for you and then he would understand how you feel. 

I’m sure you have a GP in addition to your oncologist so why not ask him to write a letter for you?  My GP certainly would, but my oncologist is so caring, he would take care of that for me—no questions asked!

You don’t need this added aggravation!  Your health comes first—serving on a jury comes second!  And that’s that!

Love Loretta

Peritoneal Carcinomatosis/Ovarian Cancer Stage IV & “TIRED ALL THE TIME!”

1.     https://thelawdictionary.org/article/best-way-to-write-a-jury-duty-excuse-letter/

____________________________________________________

2.     http://www.pwcgov.org/government/courts/circuit/Pages/Exemptions-and-Excusals-from-Jury-Duty.aspx

My note:  I live in Virginia.  I suggest you look up your state requirements on the web.  I like the letter you wrote to us.  Why not write something similar to the proper court, and attach a copy of your medical records, if your doctor is not cooperative?  Another thought—is your surgeon close by?  If your oncologist is that “insensitive”, I would certainly tell the surgeon that your oncologist refused to sign a letter for you requesting a waiver. 

But there is a “time” element involved so you have to act now. 

___________End of references____________________

 

NoTimeForCancer

Wedgeworth, I would suggest

Wedgeworth, I would suggest calling the court.  Tell them what is going on, I would tell them what your doctor won't do for you.  

Wedgeworth

NoTimeForCancer said:

Wedgeworth, I would suggest

Wedgeworth, I would suggest calling the court.  Tell them what is going on, I would tell them what your doctor won't do for you.  

Unfortunately the phone

Unfortunately the phone number on my summons doesn't lead you to a live person to talk to. The outgoing message tells you to email your questions. I have emailed them twice and have not received a response. I have called other phone numbers I found online and none of them let you leave a message or have a person to talk to. It wasn't like this six years ago when I last served. You could at least talk to someone when you called. I like your sign. I should make one that says NoTimeForJuryDutyAndOtherStuff...CancerTakesUpMyTime

 

 

Wedgeworth

LorettaMarshall said:

Wedgeworth~Seems your doc lacks compassion~shame on him

Dear Wedgeworth ~

Knowing what it is like to have a hysterectomy, debulking surgery, and having just finished my 4^th cycle of chemotherapy, I know exactly how you feel.  Each time I finish a cycle, I am weaker than I was before.  I never regain my “full energy” back.  And with a Stage IV Ovarian cancer diagnosis, I am not worrying about a “recurrence” because my cancer is never completely wiped out.  With God’s help, I’ve been “coping” with this cancer since November of 2012.  I’m glad to be alive, but only another cancer patient can fully “appreciate” it when you say, “I’m tired.”

So first, have you already asked your doctor to sign a waiver for you?  If not, you should ask for that now.  It would be unthinkable that he would refuse to help you in that regard!  If this is your oncologist, all the more reason he should understand.  Let him trade places for you and then he would understand how you feel. 

I’m sure you have a GP in addition to your oncologist so why not ask him to write a letter for you?  My GP certainly would, but my oncologist is so caring, he would take care of that for me—no questions asked!

You don’t need this added aggravation!  Your health comes first—serving on a jury comes second!  And that’s that!

Love Loretta

Peritoneal Carcinomatosis/Ovarian Cancer Stage IV & “TIRED ALL THE TIME!”

1.     https://thelawdictionary.org/article/best-way-to-write-a-jury-duty-excuse-letter/

____________________________________________________

2.     http://www.pwcgov.org/government/courts/circuit/Pages/Exemptions-and-Excusals-from-Jury-Duty.aspx

My note:  I live in Virginia.  I suggest you look up your state requirements on the web.  I like the letter you wrote to us.  Why not write something similar to the proper court, and attach a copy of your medical records, if your doctor is not cooperative?  Another thought—is your surgeon close by?  If your oncologist is that “insensitive”, I would certainly tell the surgeon that your oncologist refused to sign a letter for you requesting a waiver. 

But there is a “time” element involved so you have to act now. 

___________End of references____________________

 

Thank you for your links and

Thank you for your links and reply, Loretta. My state doesn't have too many specifics about the medical excuse. I mentioned in my reply to NoTimeForCancer that I can't get through to talk to a live person regarding jury duty. And they ignore my emails. I am still watiing for my oncologist to respond to my request for a letter. My PCP has said she would be glad to write a letter. I am now trying to figure out where exactly she should send it. Like you suggested, I could try to attach her letter to an email to the court, along with my own documentation. I have gone to some online sites and forums for cancer patients in my state and have seen a mixed response as to whether one can, or even should try, to get out of jury duty. Like you said, with stage four, you often are never cancer free to begin with, and the fatigue following chemo seems to linger. If I were retired or not working, I could probably handle jury duty as long as I was not in the middle of some kind of treatment with wonky side effects. But I  cannot do jury duty and then figure out how to do my job in my "spare time" (nights and weekends) to make up for the lost time. So that's the part I can't fathom doing. I will keep you posted. I hope you are having a good day.

LorettaMarshall

Wedgeworth said:

Unfortunately the phone

Unfortunately the phone number on my summons doesn't lead you to a live person to talk to. The outgoing message tells you to email your questions. I have emailed them twice and have not received a response. I have called other phone numbers I found online and none of them let you leave a message or have a person to talk to. It wasn't like this six years ago when I last served. You could at least talk to someone when you called. I like your sign. I should make one that says NoTimeForJuryDutyAndOtherStuff...CancerTakesUpMyTime

 

 

Wedgeworth~Why not call your local Congressional representative

Have you called your Congressional representative?  I used to work for a member of the Virginia House of Representatives.  Believe me we tried our best to accommodate the requests of those in our district.  They should have both an e-mail address and a "live phone number."

Loretta

Tethys41

Jury Duty

I received a summons, when I was in treatment.  I just called and explained my situation and was excused.  You should be able to contact someone at the court, if not by phone, then in person.  Even if your doctor won't write an excuse, you should be able to get a copy of your medical records, if that is necessary, to supply to the court, but I would be very surprised.  Alternatively, do you have a PCP, who would write you a medical excuse?

Wedgeworth

Hello, everyone ... I have

Hello, everyone ... I have more news. Every city is different! What applies to one doesn't apply to all, that's for sure. My city is TOUGH as NAILS about jury duty. In the two weeks since I received the summons, they have now added more information to the original phone number I called, the number that had a recording only and sent people an email address to write to regarding postponement requests and medical excuse requests.

 

The new information on the recording said you must provide a letter from your doctor that says specifically why you cannot serve on a jury. He or she can't just say you aren't able to. They have to say why. Then, if you work (as I do), the doctor has to write out a reason why I am able to work but not serve on a jury. Then, my employer has to write a letter that explains any accommodations they can give me for jury duty. So ... having cancer is not an automatic ticket to get out of jury duty!

The new information also provides a phone number you can call where you can plug in your identifying information and a date you'd like to postpone jury duty to. This is a one-time postponement. 

It also said where you can mail in documents from your doctor and employer (like I just described) to see if the court will give you the medical excuse. All of this has to take place fairly quickly because they mail out the summons only about 3 weeks in advance of your having to serve.

I decided to postpone for a few months. The date I was to serve was the very date I am seeing my oncologist to go over a PET scan i'm having this week. I am still no cancer free despite the surgery and 8 cycles of chemo doing a prety good job of reducing the cancer. So the visit with the oncologist is important. I'll need to find out how soon I will start yet more treatment if he thinks I need it. I also have to consult that day with the genetics counselor/doctor to findout the resuls from those tests. It was hard to get these scheduled in the first place, so I don't want to postpone them just for jury duty! Sorry, but jury duty once again is NOT on my bucket list!! ha ha ha 

Thanks to everyone who weighed in with suggestions. I really appreciate it.

Abbycat2

Wedgworth, in Florida a jury member gets paid

to serve on a jury. You would not be expected to work full time AND serve on a jury during regular daytime work hours. A few years back, my 67-year-old disabled neighbor received a jury duty notice. Her family was not supportive, so I knew that they would not show the decency to help her get out of jury duty. So, I went to the courthouse determined to have her excused. Geez, I couldn't believe how difficult that was!!! My poor neighbor, Carolyn, had a brain tumor, significant memory deficits and was on oxygen 24/7. She did not drive and was a shut in. The Bit** I spoke to who was the judge’s clerk gave me a run for my money. Finally, I said “Okay, but I’m telling you she will not show up”. She said “Well then, she will be in contempt of court and will be arrested”.  “Really?”, I said, “ No reasonable judge would arrest and jail a fragile person with such serious health issues”. This nasty woman finally caved in and withdrew the summons. I was surprised when she said that I was an unusual neighbor to advocate for her. I told her that I felt it was the right thing to do. Geez...!