Juries Desperately Need More Moms. Here's How to Make That Happen.

"A jury summons letter also typically includes instructions for seeking an exemption or excusal, and courts often excuse parents and primary caregivers of minor children from jury duty. Child care responsibilities are likely one of the most common reasons for jury excusal in the United States, and it raises the following question: When parents and other primary caregivers are excused from jury duty, do juries meet the standards of representativeness and impartiality enshrined in the U.S. Constitution?"

"This latter concept dates back to the Magna Carta, signed by King John in 1215 at Runnymede in England. The text states that "no free man shall be seized, imprisoned, dispossessed, outlawed, exiled or ruined in any way, nor in any way proceeded against, except by the lawful judgement of his peers and the law of the land." Our Founding Fathers credited this clause as the origin of the right to a trial by a jury of one's peers."

"Today, courts differ in their approaches to jury excusal for caregivers of minor children. The 10th Judicial District of Suffolk County, New York, excuses caregivers of children under the age of 16 who can provide the child's birth certificate and explain why other arrangements cannot be made. The 8th Judicial Circuit of Florida only exempts caregivers of children age 6 and under. Conversely, the North Carolina Judicial Branch does not even mention caregivers in its list of excused parties."

Jury summons legally require citizens to appear and can carry fines or penalties for noncompliance. Summons commonly include procedures for seeking exemptions or excusals, and childcare obligations often serve as grounds for excusal. Widespread caregiver excusals prompt concern about whether juries remain representative and impartial, raising the question of whether juries reflect the ideal of a jury of one's peers rooted in historical legal tradition. State and local courts apply varying rules: some jurisdictions excuse caregivers with documentation and higher age cutoffs, others set lower age limits, and some do not list caregivers among excused parties.

Read at Slate Magazine