Jury Duty

[usna2021pop]

Just to give everyone an update. In Maryland, there are no excusals for students from Jury Duty. The Jury Commissioner was very difficult to deal with but eventually I was able to get him excused by sending them a letter explaining the specifics. They gave him the opportunity to reschedule, but it had to be within the current year. I had reached out to external affairs at USMMA but never received a reply. Not complaining, but don't expect a response. My suggestion for anyone with future concerns in Maryland is to immediately call the Jury Duty Commissioner in your county and don't take no for answer. Thanks for all the help!

 

[JohnPAKP65]

Just to give everyone an update. In Maryland, there are no excusals for students from Jury Duty. The Jury Commissioner was very difficult to deal with but eventually I was able to get him excused by sending them a letter explaining the specifics. They gave him the opportunity to reschedule, but it had to be within the current year. I had reached out to external affairs at USMMA but never received a reply. Not complaining, but don't expect a response. My suggestion for anyone with future concerns in Maryland is to immediately call the Jury Duty Commissioner in your county and don't take no for answer. Thanks for all the help!

I think I would be sending a letter or email to your specific House of Delegates representative (see House of Delegates). I would also Cc: to the respective Federal level individual that appointed your son.

 

[usna2021pop]

Just one last update. USMMA did finally email me back yesterday which was good to see. I think it took over 2 weeks for the response. They said that this should be worked by the Commandants office. Just putting this out there for future reference. Thanks everyone for all the info and suggestions. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

 

[ProudDad17]

I realize things are different at a service academy, but DS received a jury duty notice while out of state at school while doing NROTC. I expected him to be excused, but instead he was given a deferral until summer. It worked out that he was rescheduled for a time that he was not gone on summer cruise. I told him he probably would not be selected, since I am a police officer, but he ended up on a jury in a criminal trial. It was a very positive experience for him. He enjoyed telling me about the case after the trial concluded.

 

[Kierkegaard]

Speculating here, but I bet this would have been easier to deal with if your plebe had taken the lead and handled it himself. At least at USNA, the Chain of Command would be happy to assist midshipmen with problems like this, but had no desire to hear from parents handling their kids problems on their behalf. And it’s easier to argue on your own behalf than on someone else’s. Not judging but I do think in the future your son is better off resolving stuff like this on his own, with your guidance if need be. After all, it’s good practice for when he has to advocate for himself or his sailors as an officer and you won’t be around to help.

 

[JohnPAKP65]

Speculating here, but I bet this would have been easier to deal with if your plebe had taken the lead and handled it himself. At least at USNA, the Chain of Command would be happy to assist midshipmen with problems like this, but had no desire to hear from parents handling their kids problems on their behalf. And it’s easier to argue on your own behalf than on someone else’s. Not judging but I do think in the future your son is better off resolving stuff like this on his own, with your guidance if need be. After all, it’s good practice for when he has to advocate for himself or his sailors as an officer and you won’t be around to help.

Very good point! In my day each battalion had a Battalion Officer, usually a Lt. Commander USMS. You tried like the dickens to avoid said individual but on rare occasions going directly to him would get a good start on resolution of the issue.

 

[cmakin]

Very good point! In my day each battalion had a Battalion Officer, usually a Lt. Commander USMS. You tried like the dickens to avoid said individual but on rare occasions going directly to him would get a good start on resolution of the issue.

I will have to say that in my day we would avoid MOST of the Battalion Officers, save one.

 

[KPEngineer]

Very good point! In my day each battalion had a Battalion Officer, usually a Lt. Commander USMS. You tried like the dickens to avoid said individual but on rare occasions going directly to him would get a good start on resolution of the issue.

We had a "commissioned" officer in each Company.

My suggestion would be to have your mid submit a chit for Special Liberty to attend Jury Duty. They will either approve their return home for jury duty or provide a written denial in which case you could submit that as documentation to the county when requesting excusal.