Question about jury duty scheduled same time as cruise...

[carlyshenk]

My husband and I had originally booked a cruise for May 16, but due to some work issues, we changed our departure date to September 3. Last week I received notice of jury duty -- and I'm scheduled to report May 16. What if we hadn't changed our departure date? Has anyone had any experience with jury duty coinciding with your cruise. What happened?

[rjack22]

If that happens you should be able to get excused. They will most likely reschedule you later.

[Hucc]

They will excuse you. This happened to me, and I was able to reschedule it for a later date.

[mii]

This also has happened to me. Just called and explained the circumstances and they will reschedule you.

 

Marilyn

[Leela]

Where I live you don't even have to call anyone or give any explanations -- there's a form that comes with the jury duty notice that lets you reschedule yourself for any reason for any week starting on any Monday within the next three months. Last year I had bought plane tickets in February for a trip to New Zealand in August, and in early July I got a notice calling me for jury duty while I would be gone. All I had to do was pick a new date, put it on the included 'change' form, and send it in.

[carlyshenk]

Thanks for your replies. I had never given jury duty a thought when we booked. I was thinking that with our luck this year my husband would be picked for our September cruise. We always buy insurance, but I want to go on the cruise.

Thanks again!

Carol

[cindygad]

This happened to me too. I called and talked to the clerk who took the message. I was surprised to get a call from the judge himself the next day. I explained we had a cruise planned and I was excused. I did get called when we got back and served on a jury.

 

Cindy

[Diana68]

This has actually happened to me on both of our cruises this year. I called both times, and they said that they would reschedule me. The second time I thought that they might make me bring in my docs, but she said no. She just told me to be around for the next couple of months. I told her that my next vacation isn't until August, so we should be ok,....I hope.

[Host Anne]

I, too, had to reschedule jury duty but not for a cruise. I had other work committments with meetings (and we plan meetings for a living). They were very understanding and easy to work with. The even let me pick the time period that would best fit my schedule.

 

By the way, it was a great experience and one I think everyone should do -- as long as it doesn't mean missing a cruise!!!

 

:)

[carlyshenk]

Hi Host Anne,

I totally agree with you. I think it is my duty and this is the first time I have been picked. But, we only cruise once a year and we plan our cruises a year in advance and look forward to it all year. I would think they could find someone to take my place for two weeks until I get back. Then, I would willingly and happily do my duty to serve on the jury.

 

Carol

[Host Anne]

Hi Carol ~ by all means -- do your cruise. I have found the jury offices very easy to deal with (as others here have mentioned) so there is no problem trying to switch so you can cruise. I certainly didn't mean you shouldn't cruise....you definitely should. I just wanted to point out that I think it's a good experience that everyone should do. Makes you think.....

 

HAVE A GREAT CRUISE!!!! ;)

[Wksskier]

My husband received a letter to report for jury duty during the week we were booked to be in Aruba. He called and they rescheduled him for a later date. It was not a problem at all.

 

Carole =^..^=

[bersue]

I just finished typing up a letter to excuse one of my employees from jury duty. The reason: we are a seasonal business and he just came off unemployment benefits and needs to make some real money.

 

I usually write at least one of these letters every year and each time they are excused from jury duty. It's a shame they don't get these notices when they are layed off.

 

sue

[Mississippian]

I got pulled for jury duty on a big case a couple of years ago, just before a cruise, and was told that NOBODY was being excused.

 

The court clerk had me bring her my plane tickets, she showed them to the judge, and I got dismissed.

[jjbko]

I dont think they will excuse you, so send your tickets to me and I will fill you in on how the cruise was!!!

[Mysteryreader]

I work for a court. Dh was sent notice that he was in a jury pool for a particular month; we had scheduled vacation for 10 days during that month. I checked with the jury coordinator. He said conflicts like that come up all the time.

 

You will need to write a letter detailing your conflict and request reassignment to another time. Dh did that; he was assigned a time after our scheduled return from vacation. Then the case settled. He was disappointed that after all that he wasn't even in the courtroom!

[katiel53]

I also got postponed for jury duty. The courts know that not everyone can be there, so many more people are selected for jury duty. Not to worry if it happens when you are cruising.

 

Katie

[Shari2]

I'm glad to hear that they will excuse you. I just received jury notice to possibly be called from September 1, to the following August 31. That would be a full year that I would be afraid to book a cruise in.

[Leela]

Wow, you're on duty for a whole year? That seems crazy to me for a city as large as Minneapolis. Where I live (San Francisco) you are on call for exactly one week, and you just check a web site or phone in every night to see if you actually have to come sit in the jury room or not. If you never have to go downtown or if you go downtown and don't get put on a trial, then you'll probably pull jury duty again in the next 12 months. If you are actually put on a trial, then you won't even be called again for two years. Furthermore, if you are put on a jury then your duty is over when the trial ends, even if it's just a one or two-day trial and the week you have duty for has not completed. They've tried to make it as absolutely as easy as possible for people to serve jury duty -- as I mentioned before, if you can't serve on the week of the notice they initially mail you, you can reschedule yourself without even giving any reason or having to talk to anyone so long as you pick a new week within the next three months. You can reschedule by sending in a card or by calling up an automated voice mail system at the court house. Now how simple is that? It's certainly nicer than where I lived in New Jersey -- you had to physically come down and sit in the court house every day for a week, from 8:30am until 3pm or so. That was a real pain. At least with San Francisco's "call in" system, you know by about 6pm the night before if you have to physically be there or not, and so you can plan to go to your regular job as usual. Sometimes they even post the call backs earlier in the afternoon.