jury duty

Dunno

My wife, who is in stage 5/6 dementia, recently received a jury duty summons. Initially, I felt overwhelmed by the additional stress it brought, and I was tempted to ignore the summons. After taking some time to cool off, I wrote a courteous letter explaining my wife's health condition and, in response, received a call from a helpful individual who informed me that all I needed was a note from her doctor and to sign an affidavit.

Even so..I’m wondering, if I decide to dismiss the request, will my wife or I be held in contempt…. Is this my problem/responsibility?

CindyBum

I would totally ignore that summons, but that's me.

Quilting brings calm

Just get the note and sign the affidavit. They will fix it so her name is never drawn again. Otherwise you will have issues…. And why create problems for yourself when they gave you the instructions.

ButterflyWings

I would ignore it this time. Especially since you did notify them. If you receive another one in the future, then I'd go through the process to get her off the list.

Our med team is always cautious about documenting a PWD's condition because it can come back to bite you/ her in other ways with insurance, benefits, contested guardianship legal action, you name it. No harm in kicking the can down the road at least once. But no, you will not be held in contempt of court, etc. She is ill and can't do it at this point.

If the Dr. is willing to create a very generic letter for you quickly, without going into too much detail about her condition and diagnosis at this point, then I would do as QBC suggested and be done with it.

M1

I bet her doc or his/her nurse would write a note easily without even seeing her. Just leave them a voice or portal message and have them mail it to you. Send that in with your own note as her power of attorney and i bet it would be sufficient.

Jgirl57

My HWD/Alz also received a jury summons but I was able to go online and request him to be excused due to dementia. I received a note back indicating his excuse was accepted. No one asked for a doctor note.

JeriLynn66

In my county, the Court/Judge accepted a written request from me but I know it varies by state and county. I wouldn’t ignore but would provide the documentation as M1 suggested.

Mint

I would also not ignore. Different areas, different rules.

May be a much bigger hassle if you ignore them.

Joe C.

Both DW and I got jury notices in when DW was about stage 5, I asked her doctor for a note about DW’s condition and my need to care for her. We were both excused from jury duty.

harshedbuzz

@Dunno

I imagine her PCP has a form letter that covers "permanently unable to serve on a jury due to medical issues" that can be sent out.

While it's tempting to ignore, you wouldn't want this to add additional stress down the road or hang over your head if you are POA and have assumed responsibility for her. In some places, people over a certain age can opt off the jury rolls although this might not be broadly promoted as a possibility.

HB

Dunno

I’ve taken the step of leaving a message on her doctor’s voicemail regarding obtaining a note for the court. Additionally, I’ll need to have the affidavit signed and stamped in front of a notary.

Thank you all for your opinions and for listening to my rant.

l7pla1w2

I was in a similar situation. My wife's lack of short-term memory made it obvious she would be hopeless as part of a jury. She already had "Alzheimer's disease" in her medical record, something she bristles about and says there's nothing wrong. I got DW's PCP to provide a note to send to the jury manager, which I did. The jury manager quickly excused DW from jury duty.

Whenever DW sees the doctor's note, she gets angry. I remind her that it doesn't matter, that it got her out of jury duty, for which she's glad.

We will both have aged out of jury duty this year.

wizmo

When DW was summoned I responded with medical explanation that was immediately rejected for lack of supporting documentation. So got a form letter from neurologist including request for permanent removal and it was done.

A year later I was summoned myself; I requested excuse due to 24x7 caregiver responsibilities and it was accepted without asking for proof.

????

My wife just recieved one. All we had to do was call them and they dismissed her. I would not ignore it, that will probally cause you more trouble.

JDancer

My DH received a notice right before the courts closed due to COVID. The only positive thing from COVID.

JJ401

Every place is different. I've done the jury thing twice. Both times we heard the judge ask the court sheriff to investigate where the no shows were. Once, that afternoon, we saw a guy in court telling the judge his excuse. I can't remember what the (flimsy) excuse was. Judge did not accept it. Guy stayed (although I don't remember him getting on a jury).

I took care of my mom's mail. I opened her notice. There was a place to note if there was a reason you could not serve. I mailed it back with a note that she used a walker, and while she wore hearing aids, she often still had difficulty hearing. They excused her.

Bill_2001

Please do not ignore a jury summons, for yourself or for your loved one with dementia. There should be a telephone number on it - give them a call and explain your situation.

I have received them for both myself and my dear wife. She obviously cannot serve. I cannot serve either, because I have no one to watch her while I serve. If the case goes overtime, I would have no one to pick her up from daycare on time.

I simply called the jury supervisor's office. They removed my wife from jury service permanently, once I provided a note from her doctor. They delayed my service for three years (twice now), to be reviewed each time. My wife's doctor also provided a note for me as her sole caregiver. No problems at all.

Ignoring the summons is not an option. Just give them a call.

Dunno

Thank you all! I'm still working on this and won't ignore the summons. I've been playing phone tag with the doctor's office and will need to get a notarized affidavit. What else do I need to do, right