[NFBMI-Talk] Accommodations for Jury Duty

Thu Apr 23 02:28:53 UTC 2020

Although I have not been summoned for duty, I have a mother in law who works for a county circuit court in sending out jury summons.

Even though hearings are not being held now, they typically will do jury questionnaires to establish pools for cases in the future, then call a panel of those selected possible jurors when the trial is starting. Given that they have been shut down for so long, they are probably “ramping up” to get started with cases again when things re-open, and will want a pool of possible jurors ready.  My mother in law is working from home during this time and this is part of what she is doing in our area.

Your best bet is trying to get a hold of the person in charge for your summons, they should be reachable by phone even if they are not in the office. You may have to leave a voicemail, explaining that you need either an accessible version mailed, or more likely, they will do it over the phone with you.  Ignoring it, though, is not the answer because they take that pretty seriously.  So, do your best to contact them, and if you can’t get a hold of them, be available when they call you to find out why you had not replied.  Ultimately the responsibility is yours:  they don’t always have accessible versions, which is another long discussion in itself, but I do think they will try to do a verbal questionnaire occasionally (obviously, they can’t do that for everyone, but in our case, that is likely reasonable).  If they don’t offer either option, then you can lodge a complaint (I definitely would escalate that, especially given the current social distancing conditions), but you’d still be responsible to get it done with a reader.

Victor

> On Apr 22, 2020, at 8:46 PM, Elizabeth Mohnke via NFBMI-Talk <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hello Mark,
> 
> Thank you for taking the time to respond to my message. I was hoping there was another blind person who had been through this before. I will contact you off list if I keep running into problems with the clerk.
> 
> However, according to my county website, the courts are currently closed for any hearings due to the stay home stay safe order. So if this is deemed as being non-essential according to the governor then I do not believe I should have to risk my health and the health of my surrounding community for a reader to read the one piece of mail that requires the use of a reader.
> 
> Thanks,
> Elizabeth
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NFBMI-Talk [mailto:nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Mark Eagle via NFBMI-Talk
> Sent: Wednesday, April 22, 2020 6:08 PM
> To: Elizabeth Mohnke via NFBMI-Talk <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Mark Eagle <markaeagle at yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: [NFBMI-Talk] Accommodations for Jury Duty
> 
> I have been called up for jury duty twice. One of which I was placed in the jury box before being disqualified for a murder trial. The jury clerk should be able to fill out the form over the phone. Also, there is an online form. I would suggest getting a hold of the court administrator's office if the jury clerk is not willing to work with you. On the other hand just because you are notified for jury duty doesn't mean you report for jury duty. The week of your scheduled call in very few jurors is required to show up out of the jury pool. Even fewer make it through the selection process. There are several instances where you can be disqualified by the court and/or attorneys for both parties. I can give you examples of this offline. Regardless jury duty is an honor to be able to serve. The benefits outweigh the risk. Especially, since the court has implemented special procedures and protocol for COVID 19.
>    On Wednesday, April 22, 2020, 01:45:04 PM EDT, Elizabeth Mohnke via NFBMI-Talk <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:  
> 
> Hello All,
> 
> I received a notification for jury duty in the mail last week. It appears as though there is a print form that I need to complete for this jury duty. Does anyone know if this form is available for me to fill out online?
> 
> I have read all the information provided online through my county website regarding jury duty. I have also contacted the clerk to let her know that I was blind and currently do not have a way to fill out the print form. However, there was nothing about accessibility listed online. And the clerk did not mention any accommodations for filling out the print form in here her response to me.
> 
> I have tried scanning the form with the apps I have on my IPhone. However, the form does not seem to scan very well. Since the courts are currently closed under the stay home stay safe order, and this is not an essencial business related to obtaining food or medicine,I do not believe I should have to be in contact with someone else simply to fill out this form that is not accessible.
> 
> So I would greatly appreciate any thoughts or experiences regarding this issue.
> 
> Thanks,
> Elizabeth
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