A
female
age
41-50,
anonymous
writes: have just got a letter telling me that I will be included for jury sevice from september this year until september 2010. I rang them to ask what I should do as my mum is blind and needs to have her medicine administered by me. We have home care to help me get her up and back to bed but during the day it is all down to me. She must be hoisted at least every two hours to prevent ulcers and they arent allowed to give medicines. I was told by the help line to put her into a care home while I am on the jury. This would be at my own expense as court costs dont cover care home expenses. I cant afford that. My doctor is useless. They charge £75 to send a letter that they say probably wont be accepted. I dont know what else to do. Please help Reply to this Question
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Fancy yourself as an agony aunt? Add your answer to this question! A
female
reader, TasteofIndia  +, writes (5 February 2009):
 Jury duty. Ahhh, Jury Duty. You can call them up and let them know your circumstances. They are often willing to work with people like you who have schedule conflicts or a really good reason why they can't participate. They can postpone your Jury Duty, but you will have to do it eventually.
You could also teach a trusted family friend or relative to administer the medicine. I'm not sure what Jury Duty is like in the UK, but here, unless it's a major trial (which it usually isn't.), you won't be there for more than a day or so. The last two juries I've served on have been for traffic tickets, took all of 3 hours and I was out and about by lunchtime.
Good luck!
A
male
reader, anonymous, writes (5 February 2009): You need to get a qualified person or someone you can trust and train up to administer your mothers medicine.
This way you can take your place on the jury.
It's quite important otherwise we may just have jurys dominated by a particular group say for instance (white home owners over 30)
Hope this helps
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A
reader, anonymous, writes (5 February 2009): I've never been called for jury service, but if I were you I'd write a letter to whoever sent you the letter telling them of your circumstances - ie, that you are a (full time?) carer for your mother. A letter is far more effective than a phone call, which is easily forgotten. If you are in receipt of Invalid Care Allowance that ought to be proof enough that you're not trying to wriggle out of it for no good reason.
If your doctor charges £75 for sending a letter it's time you changed your doctor to a more sympathetic one.
You've got about eight months to get this sorted out, so don't panic yet.
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