OTish : Jury Duty with Sleep Apnea

[Uncle_Bob]

"While I would be honored to serve, I have obstructive sleep apnea and though it is being treated I still have times when treatment isn't totally effective and I have trouble concentrating, they are very understanding at my work and allow me flexibility in my schedule" or " luckily I am retired and I can chose to stay on the couch on those days"

Exactly

[Muse-Inc]

Pre-apnea called several times and rejected by one side or the other...me and all the other extroverts.

Late summer '10 while still wearing TENS and in a lot of pain and taking pain meds, I got a grand jury summons. I show up and they say turn off all electronics...I ask the clerk if that includes my TENS unit, he smiles & says I can leave it on. The judge calls groups to the front and questions each asking about objections to serving. I mention my injured shoulders and what I'm doing to cope and he excuses me.

[Captain_Midnight]

I don't know your situation, but if you are being successfully treated with xpap, are you awake and able to pay attention during the day?

Not being judgmental, but with (successful and optimized) xpap therapy, I believe that most of us would make fine candidates for jury duty.

I had jury duty earlier this year, and when I filled out the form I was happy to check "no" when asked a question to the effect ...Do you have any disabilities that might affect your ability to serve as a juror?



.

[Uncle_Bob]

just to update as I said I would ...

and to cut a long story short both my original sleep doc and my new sleep doc got the medical excuse form.

My new doc called me up and said something along the lines of "OSA is not a medical excuse, I've got patients with OSA flying passenger aircraft, I can't sign that form, just use your CPAP, take your medications, drink some coffee and get your ass down to the court house and let them decide if they need you"

My original docs office however mailed me a doctor signed copy of the form they had faxed into the office of the jury commissioner. So I'm now excused.

On the excuse form the doctor put my condition as OSA, fatigue and anxiety, for the duration he put "not sure". I don't know if i will get any future summons but if I do hopefully I will feel up to just doing it.

Thanks
UB

[sleepycarol]

I have had been called to jury duty only a few times. Typically there are a bunch of people for the selection process so just because they send you a summons to appear doesn't automatically mean you will get chosen. I think it would be interesting to serve, but have never been selected. The one case I was really interested in was a man being tried for child molestation. When it was my turn to answer the questions, when asked if I could be impartial I replied yes, but before I stopped myself I made the comment that "they needed to throw the key away on the guy". I am a survivor of child molestation. Needless to say I didn't get chosen.

[Grouch]

I used to get called for jury duty every time I was eligible. I think they put the names of people who actually show up into a special pool to call back year after year.

But it was always a struggle for me, as I have very limited mobility. I'd get there early and the handicapped spots would all be filled, as would the jury pool spots. I'd have to park blocks away and was exhausted by the time I made it into the jury room. I've been disabled for 15 years. While I have the physical problems, the thing that made me stop working was my inability to remember things. So, I was a bit concerned about being able to remember what was said during the trial. But I always came - ready to serve. Responsibily of being a citizen and all that. Yes, I'm corny that way. Plus, I think the justice system is rather interesting.

The last time I went I was put into the jury box for questioning. 12 or 13 people before me tried to get out of serving. Bad back - can't sit for long. The judge said the person could sit on the side of the box and stand, when necessary. Another had classes in graduate school. Welcome to the jury! The judge was really tough and wasn't letting anyone off. Then he came to me. I was honest. I asked if I could take notes and the judge asked why. I told him I wanted to be sure I could remember what was happening during the trial, becasue my memory is bad.

I was thanked for my willingness to serve and dismissed. I later related this to my doc and she wrote me a permanent letter to get out of jury duty. But I'm thinking, if my memory problems turn out to be OSA related, I could actually serve on a jury. If I get my memory back, I might get that letter retracted.

[The Texan]

Being a retired LEO, there is no way I will ever get to serve on a jury......LOL. However, the quickest way to be excused from the jury pool is to answer the one question that all prospective jurors get, can you be fair and unbiased. The best answer is, "Yes, I believe in our legal system and this person would not be here if the Police did not have probable cause and enough evidence to arrest him. I believe in our Police department and know they do a fine job getting the criminals off the street".....I will guarantee you will NOT be chosen for jury duty....

[chunkyfrog]

DH asked to be excused because his hearing aids distort certain voices, making it hard for him to understand them.
He is permanently off the list.

[Cheyanna]

Most help arctiles on the web are inaccurate or incoherent. Not this!