Grand Jury: The System that Punishes the Wrong People

Marc is 26 years old. He graduated from a prestigious college, and after looking for work for just under a year, he finally got what he considered a great sales job. He loved his territory and he enjoyed selling. Marc quickly moved up in his company and soon had an excellent territory, where his required quota changed comfortably based on his previous month’s and quarter’s sales.

After landing this job of a lifetime, things were going well. He was accumulating a decent amount of savings and still having fun “play money.” Marc did all of the adult things—juggling income versus expenses, deciding if he could afford to move out of his childhood bedroom, pay down his student loans (which were no longer in deferment) and save money for his future.

Marc checked the mail about a month ago. Among offers for credit cards (which he found fascinating) and cool personalized ads aimed at selling him everything from cars to cruises (which he looked at from the new perspective of now himself being a marketer and salesman), he felt concerned to see an official government envelope from the Commissioner of Jurors.

What was this?

Summoned to a Grand Jury

On the outside of the envelope, even before opening it, he read the following words which were in large capital letters:

“GRAND JURY SUMMONS” “LEGAL NOTICE” “WILLFUL DISOBEDIENCE OF THIS SUMMONS IS A CRIMINAL CONTEMPT OF COURT.”

Upon carefully removing the tabs and opening the notice, Marc learned his county authorities summoned him to serve as a grand juror for a four week term. The summons indicated that Marc must serve two or three days a week for a four week period, followed with instructions for his appearance.

The small print read, “Willful disobedience of this summons is a criminal contempt of court that is punishable by a fine of $1,000 or imprisonment of up to 30 days or both.”

Marc’s heart started to pound and he felt a little nauseous. He could not possibly miss two or three days of work, weekly, for four weeks.

The Summons directed Marc to notify his employer. It said that he would be paid a daily fee. Then, in bold letters, “there are no exemptions - everyone who is eligible must serve.”

The Summons indicated that Marc could request a one-time postponement of up to six months. But the next time, short of a family or medical emergency or the ability to prove a “severe financial hardship” he would have to serve—no excuses. Too bad he wasn’t 78 years old!

He read on. According to the judiciary law, “You have a right to serve as a juror. Employers may not penalize employees for serving.”

It seemed that his accounts were going to go down the drain and his commission income was going to be in the tank next month. So much for moving out of his parents house during the next quarter.

You Can’t Fight the System

Marc called his Uncle Steve, who was a lawyer. Surely, Uncle Steve would know how to get Marc out of this mess.

To Marc’s great disappointment, Uncle Steve said Marc should just go and serve now; it was his civic responsibility. Steve went on to talk about this great nation and how democracy required Marc to participate.

Following the instructions on the summons, Marc answered the questions and then sent the notice to his manager in an email. His manager didn’t send any response or acknowledgment of the email.

On the appointed day a few weeks later, Marc completed his morning sales calls and in the early afternoon stopped by the office to report his numbers before checking in for 1:00 pm jury duty. Marc told his work colleagues that he was leaving early to go to jury duty. They all looked at him as if he were crazy, saying he could not miss work to do jury duty.

He had to go, but in his mind he was planning to tell the attorneys that he was unable to miss that much work—while he would love to serve, he had to be excused. But, as Marc heard the district attorney’s opening remarks, the stiff penalties and the no exemption rules again—including that working for a living was not an excuse—his panic returned.

Life Isn’t as Simple as Lawmakers Think

After the session closed for the day and jurors were told to report back the next day, Marc left the courthouse and called his manager. He dutifully reported what he had been told, that he had to cancel his upcoming client appointments and speaker presentations, which directly conflicted with the jury duty (10 am - 5:30 pm) schedule.

Marc’s boss was outraged. He stated that if Marc cancelled his appointments he would be fired. Marc was literally shaking as he disconnected the call. He simply could not lose his job, his right eyelid started twitching.

Stricken, Marc called Uncle Steve, again, who calmly assured him that his employer’s threats of termination were illegal and that Marc should basically “tell on” his employer to the district attorney. Uncle Steve seemed to think that the district attorney would either call Marc’s boss directly or send a strong message back about the illegalities of his threats.

Marc did as Uncle Steve suggested, and went back into the courthouse to seek out the district attorney. But to Marc’s surprise, the district attorney nodded her head and said she had seen a lot of people fired for missing work. She didn’t offer any assistance, other than to say that Marc could postpone his service - one time only—for up to six months.

Surely, There Is a Better Way

Fearing the loss of his job, he now gratefully accepted the offer of a postponement. Marc is now expected to fulfill his jury duty in September. When he went back to the office, to tell his boss of the adjourned date and that he would not now be cancelling those appointments, his boss slapped his back and said, “I knew you could get out of it!”

Uncle Steve suggested that Marc write an email to his boss confirming that, at his request, Marc had postponed his grand jury service and would be legally obliged to serve in September. Feeling disappointed with Uncle Steve’s legal acumen thus far, and still fearing for his job and the negative repercussions of sending such an email, Marc did not take that advice.

For now, Marc is happy to be able to go back to work and close business. He decided he will worry about September in September. While he is trying not to obsess about it, he feels financially stifled by this impending doom.

How can he leave home and rent an apartment knowing that his legal jury duty service in six months may result in the termination of his employment? Can he sue his employer if he gets fired for attending mandatory jury duty or will his employer claim he is an employee “at will” who can be terminated for cause or no cause at all?

What if Marc simply doesn’t show up at the next required appearance?

Will he be arrested?

Will he be fined $1,000 or actually be jailed for 30 days as the notice indicated?

Will he really lose his job if he does go to jury duty?

How could this be the best system for all Americans? What did other people do? What would you do?

“When you go into court you are putting your fate into the hands of twelve people who weren’t smart enough to get out of jury duty.” - Norm Crosby

“A jury consists of twelve persons chosen to decide who has the better lawyer.” - Robert Frost

This article also appears in Get Financially Fit, a Financial Poise column. To see more of Michelle’s writing on Financial Poise, click here.

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Author Biography

Michelle Gershfeld is a debt settlement and bankruptcy attorney who negotiates settlements between clients and their creditors. Michelle turns debt relief into an additional revenue stream for Personal Injury and Medical Malpractice lawyers. Through analyzing the debt and then bargaining and negotiating with the creditors, Michelle helps your client significantly reduce their debt, often while improving their credit reports and scores. Michelle’s 25+ years of bankruptcy and consumer debt experience provides her clients with strong analytical and negotiating skills. 

Michelle is also a personal finance counselor and coach who advises people who are in debt, or building wealth, by identifying and overcoming obstacles that lie in their path to securing worry-free, financial wellness.

Working with Michelle through her law firm, the Law Offices of Michelle Gershfeld, and Get Financially Fit will bring you a strategic, customized plan for your unique financial situation; tackling challenges while defining actionable steps that will increase awareness, change behaviors and lead to the fulfillment of long-term financial goals.