Jury Duty Crippled: The Time I Was Exempt from My American Duty

At the beginning of the summer, I was summoned to jury duty. Since the day I turned 18, I had been anticipating this day; the chance of having the ability to step inside a court room without committing a crime or paying thousands of dollars excited me. When I received my summons in the mail, I looked forward to fulfilling my duty as a citizen of the United States. However, along with the summons information came a paper that I had to fill out; I had to indicate anything that could keep me from fulfilling my obligations as a juror. I wrote that I am in a wheelchair and that I need assistance to use the bathroom. I also wrote that I am legally blind. These statements are both true, but I was hoping that neither of these facts about me would keep me from sitting on a jury. After all, I do have a degree in Political Science. I submitted this information and waited for a potential response.

A week went by and I did not hear anything. Another week went by and I still did not hear anything. I began to become excited; at this point, I thought I actually was going to have the chance to sit on the jury. None the less, I did receive a letter; the government did not cease to disappoint, and sent me a response at their snail speed pace. However, the response was not an explanation of why I could not effectively fulfill my obligations as a juror, nor was it a simple we have enough jurors so you are not needed. I instead received a slip of paper stating that my request to be exempt from my jury duty was granted. I did not ask to be exempt. I asked for there to be a way for someone to assist me in the bathroom when participating as a juror; I wanted an accommodation -- no a cop out -- to my duty as a citizen. I really did want to have the experience of sitting on a jury, but my disability warranted an unwanted exemption.

My exemption letter. In the upper lefthand corner is the address of the Whatcom County Courthouse. Under this address is a barcode. In the upper righthand corner is my name and address with an official postoffice stamp stamped over my name and address. In the center of this letter, there is a message that states, "Your request for exemption has been granted for the term on you summons."

I honestly do not know if I was the only one to receive this slip of paper who did not request the exemption and I cannot for sure blame the unwanted exemption on my disability. However, I did not ask for an exemption, so there has to be an alternative motive for granting me the exemption. My hope is that not all people with disabilities who ask for accommodations are exempt from jury duty. The Supreme Court has ruled that a jury member cannot be removed for their race or gender, why should physical ability be any different? If I, or any other person with a disability, was exempt solely for the need of an accommodation to fulfill our duty as a juror, I do not see how that is any different than exempting a potential juror due to their race or gender.

We all have a right to a jury of our peers, which means people from the community. People with disabilities are apart of the community. It was not that long ago that neither blacks nor women were allowed to participate as a part of a jury, and this may still happen. However, my hope is that people with disabilities will not be excluded from the opportunity to fulfill their duty as a citizen of the United States either.