Btw, at least around here, it's becoming a challenge to get excused from jury duty-- even with a legitimate reason and/or valid request for hardship waiver!
I don't know if this is new or unique to my State but even though I responded to my juror summons that I was on sick leave from work recovering from major surgery, I was still notified to complete and submit the 100+ questions where responding yes to any question required an explanation. And these questions were brutal!
Next, I was assigned a call in time for Zoom, a juror number, and juror group number, had to take the oath, and the process took better than 3 hours (8:30AM - 11:45AM) before they heard the requests for waivers!
I couldn't believe it! After two hours, I thought this can't be right, and started emailing the bailiff.
And this wasn't even a Criminal Trial but a Civil Commitment matter where the State was seeking a jury to decide on the indefinite commitment of an prison inmate after their release from prison as a sexually violent predator. Feel like I dodged a bullet here.
Washington’s SVP law passed in 1990, allows for the indefinite confinement of sex offenders who meet these criteria, even after they have completed their criminal sentences.
This law was the first of its kind in the United States and remains a critical tool for managing the most dangerous offenders after their release from prison.
If I remember correctly, there are currently about 200 offenders banished to an Island in the Puget Sound, SW of Tacoma.
So beware of your next juror summons!