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That sucks. What about asking your GP for an exemption?

I got called for jury duty only about 4 weeks after my surgery. I got a medical exemption, which for whatever reason went a little further than it needed to, as I believe I am now permanently exempted from being called; which is funny because I'm not entirely opposed to being a juror.

That being said, I'm not sure how different the selection process is in the US, but in Canada, if you cannot get a letter of exemption from you physician (or cannot get one on time) you can still go for the selection and then speak to the judge or his/her representative directly and voice any concerns you may have before the trial starts. Be VERY specific on your restrictions and how you feel they may affect you ability to perform your duties. I believe even the need for frequent and/or unpredictable restroom breaks may be enough to get you exempt in and of itself, because obviously court cannot be interrupted arbitrarily. Anything that may affect the flow of the trial will be viewed as a problem for the proceedings, particularly for the defense lawyers, so the judge may decide to dismiss you in favour of an alternate.

Good luck!
I get a jury duty summons every year like clockwork. Usually, my jury group winds up not even having to show up. But, in the past decade, I've had to go in 2-3 times. One time I was excused by the judge on a 2 month trial, after filling out the questionnaire. But at that time I was using a cane and wearing a CAM walker on my foot, so I was a mess. The other times were short trials and I thought I would be excused by telling the judge I have chronic diarrhea and no colon, but I was told, "no problem, just raise your hand and we'll take a recess." One case I got in the jury box and was finally cut loose by the defense attorney. The other case, I was sworn in and they dismissed the case the next day. Once in a while my summons gets "lost" in the mail...but, I don't recommend that.

My husband has UC and is an attorney. He gets a summons every year too. This year he got stuck on a two week case. Put his schedule in a real bind.

So, I am not sure there is much for you to do other than hope for the best.

Jan Smiler
I used to get two a year until I fixed my voter registration to match my DMV record exactly. Apparently, the slight name difference made me look like two people! I have actually had to go in and even spend days after being assigned to a court room, and still get the summons a year later! Probably has to do with my county having a lot of courthouses and Oakland is one of them (very busy place).

But, so far, no excuse for diarrhea. I guess they figure that if you have a medical excuse, you should have gotten it before you showed up!

Jan Smiler
I guess the system is a little more lenient in Canada (actually, the whole justice system here is more lenient but that's another matter entirely Smiler). I actually had a colleague who said she was excused from jury duty because she told the judge there would be no one to look after her dog. ?!

When I was exempt, it wasn't the frequency of the bathroom trips but rather the very close proximity to my surgery. I was still recovering, not to mention still dealing with the open stoma wound. However, my surgeon felt the diagnosis of UC, colectomy and frequent bathroom trips would give me a permanent exemption based on Ontario criteria, and he's probably right since I have not been called back in almost 5 years.
Definitely varies by state as to how often you can be called. I was called in 2005 and again in 2011 and excused both times due to conflicts because I have practiced a long time in a small state and I know most of the trial attorneys in the local bar.

I would think that medical passes are not freely given by Doctors because if another juror gets wind of someone getting medically excused they will try the same thing. Monkey see, monkey do. I also seem to recall interviewing jurors who were out of work on medical disability.

I also do not think jury duty is that stressful. The stress is on the attorneys and their clients. They are the ones facing a win or loss at the end of a long, hard road. In my business personal injury cases are taken on a contingency fee basis meaning if the jury gives your client nothing, you get nothing, because 33.33% of 0 is 0. And sometimes you take a case thinking you can coach up a client to look good and speak well in front of a jury, but then when you are coaching him/her up the day before trial, you realize they are never going to look good in front of a jury no matter how hard you wave your magic wand. And that is when the stress hits big time, when you see what you did not see when that client walked in the door. But you still have to plow ahead and do your best no matter how much the case sucks, and no matter how much your client is an idiot who will seem like an unsympathetic jackass to a jury. The best attorneys take a case that sucks and make it seem like a close call to the jury, and sometimes, you actually win those cases. Usually when something unexpected happens at trial - like the other side not being as well prepared, making mistakes or not being able to articulate their story coherently or credibly to the jury.

Being asked to be the one to decide what the evidence shows is not that stressful, although if because of UC or pouchitis you can't sit still in the jury box, that could be stressful. I believe accomodations can be made and one time I asked a Judge for an accomodation due to pouchitis though I never needed to use it because of adrenaline which pulled me through. Personally, I would love to serve on a jury and in 2011 did everything I could to sway the Trial Judge (who knew me from other cases in her Court), but she felt I knew too many people too well and could not do it.

There are few things more important in our society than jury duty. I would personally love to serve but nobody will have me on their jury in this State. I really do not look kindly on those who seek to get out of jury service. I once had a very well known celebrity actress on one of my jury panels in New York City back in the 1990s. She did not attempt to pull strings to get out but we got rid of her immediately because we did not want her being a sideshow to a trial that was otherwise pretty routine and boring compared to her celebrity. The jurors did not understand why we got rid of her, and they were upset thinking we gave preferential treatment, but we just got rid of an immense distraction to our trial. This was done on unanimous agreement of all counsel, although we infuriated the jury panel. But she was there and ready to serve although I am sure she would rather have been somewhere else. She was also surprised we let her go.

It's all about having a fair trial and jurors who can focus on the evidence presented and put their personal feelings aside. Doing the right thing based on everything you hear. Can you do that? Because if you can, you should serve.
Last edited by CTBarrister
Just the thought of not being able to use the bathroom at will causes me to have greater than usual signals that I need to use a toilet NOW. The confinement of being seated in a jury box is one example of exactly that feeling! The last time I served on a jury I dressed for it! I dug up and wore those "pre j-pouch days" rubber panties! Just having them on took care of any possible anxiety which could have occurred as a result of the situation.
Thanks for all the input, I really appreciate it! I sent a letter on my health issues with my form to the courthouse so I will see what they say. I think i will be fine as long as i know i can use the bathroom when i need to. Also it would be nice if they allow you to have bottle water while your setting there. I try to drink water though out the day and eat snacks between meals. Just seems to help me with since jpouch surgery. Im hoping for the best because it could be a great learning experience!
The courts in my county don't allow any eating or drinking in the courtroom, but you can drink at any break. Most of my experience has been rather tedious, but I haven't actually sat through a trial yet. Just sitting around the jury room, in the court room waiting for the jury selection process, etc. So far, they always kick me loose. But sometimes that is after three days! The one time I was sworn in, the case was dismissed the next day...

Jan Smiler
No food or drinks in the Courtrooms in Connecticut but there are coffee/snack shops where, during recesses in the action, one can buy water or snacks. I have noticed that in Connecticut some of these snack bars in the State Courts are staffed by blind individuals. They are able to get the job done although it seems like it is an honor system because I don't know how they can tell a $1 bill from a $10 bill.

I would think that in your case the Jury Administrator in Iowa could make an accomodation so that water is accessible during recesses and in the jury room. Chances are you can sneak in smaller snacks like energy bars as long as they don't set off the metal detectors. Never pull it out in front of the judge, save it for the jury room or eat it during recess.

I would also suggest mentioning your health issues to the Judge during Voir Dire when you are asked if there is anything that could prevent or make it difficult for you to serve as a juror. Usually the Judge will ask a generic catch all question in that regard to sniff out any unusual issues.

The usual routine in Connecticut is jury comes out at 10 a.m. and then lunch is at 1 p.m. for 1 hour, until 2 p.m. So jurors are never in the Court for more than 3 hours straight and usually there are one or more recesses during that time anyway. In our Courts there are bathrooms in the jury rooms, they do not make people sit around and not have facilities for them.

By the ways, we J Pouchers/UC patients tend to think of ourselves as a small minority of society that needs to use the bathroom a lot. This perception is really off. There are many people who suffer from high blood pressure and take drugs that have a diuretic effect. During a recent vacation with my father who has hypertension and takes diuretic drugs, I found that he was more interested in knowing where all the bathrooms were than I was. I am sure there are a lot of people with high blood pressure that have the same issues, and you will probably have a few of them as fellow jurors.
Last edited by CTBarrister
Cass27,
I live in Polk County, Iowa and have served several times once after getting my UC diagnosis. Time before last I was having a UC flare and called my GI on a Friday afternoon when I was to serve on Monday. I'd found out they would accept a doctor's excuse faxed in. He told me it would take 5 days to get something typed out of the system in his office. I suggested he write it out on a prescription pad and he did that and had someone fax it to the number I provided to him. I made it easy for him by having all of that ready.

The last time I went and they had their jury selected 3 people before they got to me. I'm glad as it was a murder trial. I've served on 2 sexual assault trials and they were horrible. I did a civil case about an olive pit in a restaurant salad, the restaurant won. There are many breaks and times they send the jury out, while they argue about things, so I would have no problem serving again with my j-pouch. I couldn't mentally handle another rape case. I saw several jurors excused for the same reason. Being on a jury is a privilege but if the case hits too close to home or will cause mental anguish the judge will excuse you.

I had to serve a month the first time, the 3 cases above and now they call you for a week. If you are not picked in the first day or maybe 2 chances are you will not even be called because of the timing of cases. It could be your county is different as there are 99 of them Smiler

Good Luck

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