Ugh...
So, a while back I got a jury questionnaire, which I filled out and returned promptly. This is, of course, shortly after I had to show up at court for jury duty last summer, when I had to take a day off work to sit around and get told they didn't need me, and give me parking money and a bit of pocket change (that was county, so I can't use it as an excuse). I just got an e-mail from my mom; apparently my jury duty summons came:
You're summoned for Monday, Jan. 8th, which is your first day back at school [which is wrong; classes start a week later]. It's US District Court in Detroit. I will put it in another envelope & mail it right up to you, because you need to mail back part of it "within five days". It says you need to request postponements in writing, & students need to provide a letter from their school's registrar. These are supposed to be "mailed or faxed to the court as soon as possible". THEN you still need to call the toll-free number the Friday before your scheduled appearance to "find out if your request has been granted".
WTF am I supposed to do if my request is "not granted"? Its not like I can just skip school. Well, I could, I'm sure it would be a reasonable excuse, but do they HAVE to make it such a pain in the ass? You would think they would send the summons more than five weeks before the date for the summons, or make it a bit more painless to postpone when there is inevitably a scheduling conflict. I have no problem serving on a jury. In fact, I think it would be interesting. There is no reason to treat me like a criminal, or make it difficult for me to postpone to a time where I won't be leaving a week after jury duty starts. What if I get stuck in a long trial?