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toripearson_19 t1_jbplc2q wrote

It depends on the hardship. My fiance had to report for jury duty and they told everyone right of the bat that lack of childcare isn't even accepted as an excuse anymore.

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timesuck t1_jbpmgs0 wrote

Yeah for sure. I can’t speak for the grand jury process, but from my jury experience, I agree that the things the court considers hardships are much different than what the average person would consider a hardship.

They should absolutely offer childcare and pay people more if they want to make it easier for all types of folks to serve on juries.

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toripearson_19 t1_jbppq5h wrote

This! My fiance got $12 for having to be at the courthouse 8 hours. It's ridiculous they think it's ok to make someone miss a day of work pay to go sit at the courthouse all day. He didn't even serve on a jury. They just kept him there in case they needed an extra person.

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Jupichan t1_jbrpn94 wrote

I wound up losing a ton of money the time I went. Caught a bad case of the flu from the lady sitting next to me. Missed not only that day of work, but five more days after that.

But of course those five days were after I went to work for a day, because it was still incubating, and therefore I was "not sick yet."

So I took out the entire prepared foods department of a Market District.

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toripearson_19 t1_jbrqqfc wrote

My fiance actually got covid there! At least we're pretty sure. Then I caught it from him and had to miss work. And I'm a self-employed dog walker, so I don't get PTO or anything.

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just_an_ordinary_guy t1_jbru9bu wrote

And what it encourages is people saying shit they don't necessarily believe to try and get off the jury. Some folks have a job that will pay them their normal wages or a difference between what the court pays and their normal wages if they have jury duty, but it's not a legal requirement. So what you logically wind up with is pressure towards more well off people being on juries.

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Ivegotthehummus t1_jbpul5g wrote

Allegheny used to provide childcare but stopped during the pandemic. Such a loss. The ~$10 a day doesn’t even cover parking, let alone a babysitter (for someone without daycare or family).

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TheSpeedyBee t1_jbqfjux wrote

They do offer childcare, that’s why they don’t accept it as a hardship.

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pmizzle88 OP t1_jbpm8yo wrote

That makes sense. It would be very difficult to fill any jury if that was accepted as an excuse. It seems like grand juries are unique in the time commitment involved. I wonder how that differs from typical jury duty summons?

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