Jury duty

I've been called up for jury duty at the county court level. This is the second time in three years that this supposedly random process has chosen me, though my parents have never in their lives been called to serve. I was summoned twice in my 13 years in Arizona too.

Here's how it generally works: A summons in the mail notifies the recipient that she must serve unless she qualifies for specific exemptions. There's a questionnaire where she verifies she's a U.S. citizen, has never been charged with or convicted of a felony, and doesn't have a disability that would interfere with serving. To each she answers "yes" or "no." "Yes" to the question about disability requires verification by a doctor, of course.

Every time (four times now), I've answered the disability question with a write-in of "maybe." Is there reliable public transit to get a person with a wheelchair to the courthouse? Is the courthouse wheelchair accessible? Are the courtroom, the jury box, and the restrooms that the jurors use accessible too? Will my personal attendant or nurse remain available to me? Will I be treated respectfully if I need accommodations not immediately available? I figure I'm not the wildcard in this equation.

Marta Russell, author of Beyond Ramps: Disability at the End of the Social Contract, wrote about her summons to jury duty in 2002. After some adventures with parking, elevator access, and building security, it was time for a little ableist attitude from a jury administrator:

Those of us who have been using wheelchairs for some time know the routine. No matter where you choose to place yourself you will be told that you are in the way and asked to move. It took about ten minutes but an administrator was soon by my side telling me I was blocking traffic and suggested that I "move over there" pointing to a table against the opposite wall.

There were people using that table to fill out forms so I mentioned that I would be in the way there too. Why is it that some people do not like to be "upped" by a person using a wheelchair? She certainly did not like it and denied that there was anyone using the table even though three persons were in plain sight at the table at that very moment!

As I went towards the table she went over and grabbed the table, then dragged it off into another area. Plainly agitated she came back over to me and asked in a patronizing tone "Is that enough room?"

My wheelchair is about 26 inches wide, the table was about 5 feet long. Agitated myself, I retorted that if the room had been designed to accommodate a wheelchair and had integrated seating, she would not be having this problem now, would she?

Russell's experience is hardly the most dramatic. George Lane, of the Supreme Court case Tennessee v. Lane, had once crawled out of his wheelchair and up a flight of stairs to reach a second-floor courtroom in Tennessee. When he refused to repeat the process on a different day, he was arrested for failure to appear. (Tennessee v. Lane, itself, is about whether or not a plaintiff can sue a state for damages under the ADA's Title II.)

Lane was a defendant in a criminal case, but access issues remain the same. Well, if fact, it's even more important that a defendant be able to attend his own trial, isn't it?

As for me, my "maybe" means I made it through that initial screening and must wait for my notice of what day I phone the courthouse. At that point, my jury pool group may or may not be required to come to the courthouse that day. I'm on call for this process through the end of 2006.

I could have opted out easily, I believe. There's the chance that writing "I use a ventilator" instead of "maybe," or "state-paid nurse will accompany me" would have been enough to get me passed over, but I'm interested in the process, if a little jaded about how welcome I might be to participate.

Being accepted onto a jury would considerably complicate this life I'm starting to adjust to, but I'm following through. Why exactly? First, there's nothing about my disability that interferes with my ability to make judgments in a courtroom even though there's a presumption in the disability question that I will be a problem citizen. I come with hired staff to help me. I should be good enough if they look at me with an open mind, eh?

And second, since a doctor's note to opt out (assuming I needed to) can cost an office visit and money to acquire, there's an inequality to the initial screening that I object to. Receiving a summons in the mail does not cost most people anything (at the initial stage -- salary loss is a whole other thing), they should be fully prepared to accommodate me when I show up. And fairly assess me like everyone else.

Crossposted at Alas, A Blog
Check there for more comments