SB 43  Jury duty deferment for primary caregiver Sponsored by Sen. Alice Forgy Kerr, R-Lexington DESCRIPTION: This bill would temporarily defer a juror from service if he or she is the primary caregiver for a child under 6 or for an elderly or disabled family member.  Those  requesting a deferment must do so in writing. STATUS:  A similar bill passed the Senate in the 2000 Assembly but died without a hearing in Rep. Gross Lindsay’s House Judiciary Committee.

ê  In Senate Committee ê  Passed Senate Committee ê Passed by Full Senate o Signed by Governor ñ Passed by Full House ñ Passed House Committee é In House Committee

THE FAMILY FOUNDATION:  Yes! Many judges already accommodate caregivers who are called for jury service, but the system is not standard from one court jurisdiction to another.  If a person is willing to forego a second income in the interest of being a primary caregiver, why should the government demand jury duty when it could be deferred until the child is past the critical years.
 

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SB 43: An Act Relating to Jurors
Sen. Alice Forgy Kerr

Clearly the answer is "no" — preschoolers should not "do time" for jury duty.  Yet, currently, in many cases where parents have taken particular care to ensure that their preschooler is their number one priority, it is the child who sacrifices (or who is sacrificed) for jury duty.  Let's keep government's priorities straight as well, better "a parent" than "a program" to care for the child.

The concept is much like the military draft of the 1960s with its "student deferment," which did not exempt anyone from service, but rather delayed the service for a higher priority — college education.  Once schooling was completed, the student deferment was void and the individual served according to the law.  That system preserved the priority of the student's college education.  Similarly, when a fulltime parent has effectually prioritized so that their preschool child comes first, government should stand by their side, not in their face!  Such parents are still willing to serve but would like to do so on a deferred basis.

Q:   Judges routinely excuse from jury duty those faced with significant family obligations.  Is this bill really necessary?
A:   Judges have not been consistent in their exemptions.  For example, breast-feeding mothers and mothers of special-needs kids have been forced to serve.
 

Q:   Why should we cater to parents?  Isn't this simply selfish, babyboomer ideology that reveals a lazy, "serve me first" attitude?
A:   Full-time primary caregivers, by conviction, have set aside career (and its associated wealth) in order to focus their attention on raising their children.  This commitment has been validated by many studies on Early Childhood Development.
 

Q:   If we grant stay-at-home caregivers exemptions, soon other groups will be asking out.  This law will set a precedent, becoming a "slippery slope."
A:   This is not a PERMANENT exemption, just a TEMPORARY DEFERMENT.  Full-time caregivers are excused only until their child reaches the age of six.  This bill provides only a temporary and optional postponement.
 

Q:   Our justice system depends on the promise of a jury of peers.  Excluding parents will deplete our jury pool and damage our court system.
A:   No one is excluded.  SB 43 does NOT automatically remove anyone from the jury pool — the juror 1) must be a primary caretaker and 2) must request to be excused in writing.  Unfortunately, in our society few have chosen to be full-time caregivers.
 

Q:   How will judges find enough jurors to meet the current high demand that the courts are experiencing? Won't this substantially lower the number of potential jurors?
A:   Only a slight drop will be experienced during the next five years.  At that time the numbers will stabilize because there will be as many "formerly excused" caregivers re-entering the jury pool as there are "newly deferred" caregivers leaving.
 

Q:   Haven’t you ever had to make arrangements for a sitter?  Come on, don’t you go out to dinner without the kids?  What do you do for childcare then?!
A:   A jury service commitment involves a lot more than finding a sitter for a few hours in the evening. The unpredictable schedule and duration of jury duty service makes it extremely difficult to find quality all-day childcare on a moment’s notice.
 

Q: Why should families receive this special attention?  Shouldn't every citizen have the exact same civic responsibilities?
A:   Raising healthy "future citizens" should be a parent's number one priority, responsible citizenship is secondary.  Forcing the parents who really recognize these priorities to serve the state first, their child second, ultimately harms both state and child.