So I’ve been summoned for jury duty. I know I can get out of it by mentioning my diagnosis, but then it becomes public record and I could lose my job. If I do serve, the prosecution and defense can ask all kinds of personal questions which then become public record too (right?)
Is there any way I can get out of this without it becoming a public spectacle?
In my country you can get a doctor who knows you to write a letter on your behalf just mentioning an ongoingng illness. They don’t need to be specific
I’m in the US and my doctor sent a letter to the court that said I should be excused but it didn’t say my diagnosis.
My doctor in SD wrote that I was sz with homicidal tendencies…never been called for jury duty again. Here in WI, they filed with the state excusing me once I was established with my first pdoc here. Never been made into public record cause of HIPPA laws, just in files for state as medically disqualified.
Just emphatically tell them you know a guilty person just by looking at them, that you don’t need to hear anything in court. They won’t be able to get rid of you fast enough.
Who says it’s public record? I’m actually not even sure what that entails or what it means. I’m excused from jury duty for life starting about 6 years ago. It doesn’t sound right that anyone can find that out about me, it seems it would be information that would be kept confidential. It’s no ones business. I would call the court anonymously and ask them these questions and ask who exactly has access to the information and doublecheck to see who could find out if you gave them a diagnosis. It shouldn’t be a be a big deal or public spectacle; the court has a million people to choose from to serve jury duty, they don’t need to wreck anyone’s life or reputation.
I started getting concerned when I read an article on a privacy site, which talks about lawyers running background checks on jurors, among other things. I’d post a link, but I’m too new to be allowed to do that.
I did call the court administrator, and I started quizzing her as if I had a strictly medical excuse. She said that any diagnosis would not be made public, and the doctor didn’t even need to specify the illness, just the duration of the illness (temporary or permanent.) That was somewhat reassuring.
I called my pdoc to get an excuse and specifically asked them not to put my diagnosis on the excuse letter, just a generic excuse. Hopefully that will do the trick.
Good job. Hopefully that will work. Good luck.
I’m not 100% sure, but I’m pretty close to being 100% sure that they cant release medical history due to HIPPA. If they did, it would have to be with non-specifying details.
I do believe that HIPPA trumps freedom of information act.
Work is usually enough. Don’t need a story but that is out here in Australia. Might be a different system over there.
This topic was automatically closed 95 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.