Thu 22 Mar 2007
Yes, I Wish to Be Excused
Posted by Erin under Daily Life
[4] Comments
I’ve been randomly selected for jury duty. In Baltimore. They want me to fill out a lot of checkboxes before five days is up. Tick, tock, tick tock. Probably I’ve already expended my five days in the mail forwarding system. I’ve locked all the padlocks against the Brute Squad that is no doubt on its way to round me up, with Andre the Giant at the fore. Wait, here’s a useful section:
“Do you wish to be excused? YES NO If yes, check reason below and give details.
- age– 70 or over
- undue hardship
- organized militia
- medical or physical reasons
- extreme inconvenience
- work is of public necessity”
I’m going to go with extreme inconvenience. That Phoenix-Baltimore commute is really taxing. Though as I child I once organized the neighborhood children into a platoon. Somehow the stickers from fruits were involved. That counts as a militia, right?

I too have been selected for jury duty. I have to wait until April 1st to find out if I will have to go in April 2nd. truly fun!
Excuses, excuses. We citizens have a DUTY, you know.
I love “organized militia” because it implies that a whole category of people have tried to get out of jury duty by being their own loosely disorganized militia.
My dad collects the stickers off fruit. Only bananas though.
The call of civic duty followed you all the way to Phoenix?!?!