Should I be Excluded From Jury Duty Because of PTSD?

[WorkingThruIt]

I had jury duty a month or so ago. I'm not sure how it works in other countries, but here in the US, we have to answer a questionnaire before being sent the summons. One of the options is a medical exclusion. I didn't feel like my life is affected enough to be able to say that I would not be able to participate due to a medical condition.

I went and had to sit in the courtroom while the attorneys went through the jury selection process. It was a criminal case and the defendant had a few too many things in common with the person who attacked me. I was not selected and seemed to be fine while in the courtroom, but it set off symptoms in the days that followed.

I feel like I would be fine in something like a civil trial, but may have issues with many types of criminal trials. It is a random process, so I can't request to not be on certain, or even all, criminal trials.

Should I claim a medical exemption next time or wait and take it up with the judge if my PTSD is going to be a problem? How do others handle this?

Thanks!

 

[Noone.]

Hello WTI

I can say first hand jury duty is a pain, I listed my PTSD and I might as well said I had a cold.
Now going to trial is another thing, being a firefighter we get hauled
down to court alot.
One time I ended up taking two adavans and I still found myself
feeling threatend by the defense attorney, talk about a funny site
I must of been, I have a hard time sitting still as it is.
My friends wife was in the audience if that's what it's called and
she said she couldn't tell I was having an issue and at one point I
had everyone laughing, who would of thought I could pull that off.
Anyways it was a blurr.

Take care.

FIRE.

 

[Deleted member 541]

I got the jury duty thing, many years ago. Lucky for me I never had to go. The thoughts of it sent me into a world of crap. Sitting in a courtroom all day, and deciding someone elses fate..No thanks.....

I finally found out how NOT to get chosen. I am not a registered voter......If you aren't a registered voter, you don't get on the list......It was a fair trade, as far as I am concerned.......I don't give a rats ass what anyone thinks either. I have heard it all, on what a bad person I am for not voting and doing my part. *My part*, is taking care of me!!!!!!

 

[2quilt]

I do the same thing, Cat. I register just before big elections, then I unregister afterwards. If they do catch my name during that time when I am registered, I claim PTSD because it's easy to understand how even a jury member without PTSD would be upset and have nightmares and crying spells from talking about certain crimes. Once the chosen jury member explains what PTSD is, the judge should let the chosen person off. If the judge demands that i come to court for a case, my T can write a letter that will clear me from the chosen list.
Also, when you register for a certain party, your home phone and possibly your SSN is public record, and you will not only get a million phone calls from solicitors and political solicitors, but you leave yourself open to SSN-based crime.
I encourage everyone I talk with about this subject to unregister.

 

[lrs]

Yeah, I have to do jury duty next month.
Joy, Joy, Joy

 

[trapped]

Just wanted to say to those who are concerned about the voter registration, keep in mind that they also pull from the DMV list to create one large data base, so you may not be registered to vote, but if you have a driver's license, you can still be in the database for jury duty...

I've never done jury duty, I've always gotten out of it. Personally, I don't think I'd be able to handle it. I have a hard enough time sitting still and paying attention anyway, and I'm an anxious enough person any way, and I just don't see me having to sit on a jury going too well...

 

[2quilt]

Let us know how it goes, Irs.

 

[anthony]

I think you would find you could get a medical exemption if and only if, you got a recent certificate / analysis from a physician stating that it is affecting you beyond reasonable levels.

 

[goingonhope]

I must show up for the jury duty selection in less then two weeks. This follows my response back and call last yr. asking for such to be postponed. Now it's time, and I'll be there, but just hoping that all goes just as well as it did the last time, and I don't get selected.

If selected, well then they get what they get. Pretty scary, huh'. (lol) :rofl:

No, seriously. Trusting all will work out somehow and for the best.

Hope

 

[evergreen]

I feel your responsibility is to yourself. It is ok to know your boundaries and see this is not good for you. You could list on the form your PTSD and the symptoms from it that would interfere with your ability to be fair. "unexplained anger, flashbacks, etc"

Some of my friends LOVE jury duty so don't feel you are letting society down by not going. There are plenty of people out there just waiting for their turn.

Love,Evergreen

 

[Mina]

The questions they ask in the selection process might find one of the attorneys excluding you right off. They're specifically looking to find out your background and potential biases, and will choose to include or exclude you on that basis. For example, a prosecutor would probably love to have a sexual assault victim on a rape trial jury, but the defense would use a "strike for cause" to make sure that person did not get seated. Someone with a clear bias like that has a "cause" (reason) for the attorney to not want them on the jury. And in jury selection, attorneys have an unlimited number of strikes for cause.

My boss says he has always told them he's a Druid during the interview process, and is quickly dismissed :rolleyes:

 

[WorkingThruIt]

Thanks everyone! I really wanted to be on a jury. It just seems that there are several types of criminal cases that no attorney in his right mind would let me sit in on. I think I will note it if they send another questionnaire. If I get the summons anyways, then I don't any choice but to show up.

The thought of explaining my issues in front of a courtroom full of people is horrifying.