Hi,
Has anyone been summoned for Grand Jury in Kane County? I've been summoned for regular jury service before and served on a one day trial but not Grand Jury. I would just like to know what to expect. I heard that you are on for 3 months. How do they handle hardships? I am a SAHM of a 4 year old. My husband doesn't get paid if he doesn't work and all of our family lives out-of-state. So this is going to be a little tough.
Any insight would be great - Thanks.
Thank you everyone for all the great advice and tips regarding Grand Jury Service. I'm glad I asked, I feel so much better and more informed about it all.
i was called up for Kane and i wrote a letter telling them that I am a SAHM of 2 and I never got a letter back but I called and was excussed for the next 5 years or so.
I got called for Grand Jury and had 2 kids ages 5 and 3 at the time. They simply called me up for the "interview" and I told them I was a stay at home mom and would not be able to find a sitter. They said thanks and I was excused. You should not have a problem. I think they realize that paying a sitter on their measly stipend would not work. You do get paid for driving there and spending time waiting to tell them this though. Best of luck!
usually you can just mail the response back indicating that you are a SAHM with children under 6. They will excuse you until kids are of school age. Did for me in DuPage
Grand jury duty is different from regular jury duty in that you don't decide a case, you decide whether the prosecution has enough evidence to indict someone. Even though your duty spans for 3 months, you aren't there everyday for 3 months. In the state where I used to live, you generally met once a month or so (depending on the county and its size), but it could be different here. I would call the state's attorney for Kane County or whatever number they gave you and ask how often the Grand Jury convenes. If you can make it work with your husband, you should really do so. It is an invaluable experience, just in terms of how our criminal justice system works...Plus, it IS your civic duty.
If you are a sahm, you can be excused from jury duty. Call the info. # and ask what you need to do. In cook county, i had to send a letter stating that i was a sahm w/no alternative child care. I was excused w/o question.
My husband was called for grand jury duty in Kane County. It was 3 months BUT it was only one day a week. His day was tuesday. And most days he was done by lunch and home in the afternoon.
I've only been called to jury duty once and it was when my first son (now almost 4 years old) was a baby. I was a stay at home mom and nursing. I called the number on the notice and asked what I was to do considering I was a stay at home mom and nursing my baby and they said no problem, they'd note that I was not available and would not be for a while for those reasons, from what I remember. That there was the end of it. So maybe try calling a number on the form telling them you are a stay at home mom so you have nobody else to care for your son if you were on jury duty. Best wishes to you!
I would probably call the police dept. to find out for sure but if you bring your child because you have "no" sitter, I'm sure you'll be excused. When names and numbers come up it's a random thing. I don't think they know who is family and who isn't. Good luck
When my children were young I got called for Grand Jury duty downtown Chicago, I had four children under seven and the family I had around all worked, there should be a place to asked to be excused for hardship, at least there was 20 years ago. I just put that I was a stay at home mother with young children and my husband could not get out of work I had not other people to watch them. They accepted that as hardship, I have not been called since.
Hi N.!
I was summoned for regular jury duty and used the web site address that was on the form to list the reasons why I couldn't serve. I wrote that I was the caregiver for my children and had no one else to take care of them. If you would rather not be on the jury I would give this a try. It really isn't worth it to have your husband stay home and lose out on income. If you can't find the web address let me know and I bet I can find it for you - they email back and forth to let you know they are considering your request.
Call the Kane County Juror's office ###-###-####) and find out more about it. They're very patient and have heard everything. In particular, be aware that the Grand Jury (despite its name) just decides if there's enough evidence to have a regular trial. They can sometimes be quite short. Call them and find out.
I don't know about Kane County but in Cook County you do not have to serve jury duty of any kind if you are a SAHM with one income. All I had to do was put in writing that I requested to be removed because of my SAHM status and only my hisband worked and I was not required to serve.
I would call Kane County and ask them.
