Jury Duty, State of Kansas: NO BREASTFEEDERS (awesome!)

Hi all!

Okay, so today, I got another jury summons.
I was very excited..... (and I'm NOT being sarcastic!)
I LOVE getting jury summonses, and I'm going to try my best again this time to get on the jury. I've gotten close a couple of times, but then not.....


Anyway, so - reading the jury summons for THIS time, I was looking at the "ineligible if..." list.

So, yeah, anyone who has any of these conditions is ineligible:

a) no longer a resident of the county (I still am, so that's all cool)

b) not a citizen of the US (no problem)

c) convicted of a felony in the last 10 years (no problem there, either)


And here is the one I want to discuss:
"You are not eligible for jury service if:
d) You are a breastfeeding mother." (And, by the way, I am NOT a breastfeeding mother, either....)


I think it used to say 'you are not fluent in English'......
but - not now! Or, maybe that comes on the questionnaire at the beginning. Interesting.

Last time I got called, it was for a murder trial. During voir dire, one potential juror said he would be unable to be neutral because he could not impose the death penalty (something I respected) due to his religion. That's fine. Good for him.

My brother says he once sat on a capital murder case, and that he was the ONLY one who dissented in the verdict room and saved the guy from the death penalty (he lives in Montana).


I have no idea what cases there will be (although none are expected to require sequestration).....but it just really offends me that a law-abiding citizen of this county would be ineligible to serve on account of she is BREASTFEEDING.

What the hell difference should that make?

Oh....wait. Some people get upset when women breastfeed.

Right.

Anyway - this IS a social issue......EDITED: If it's for the welfare of the baby, then I'm all for it. New moms and breastfeeding moms SHOULD be exempt...........

Don't know if anyone else cares, agrees, or disagrees with this 'exclusion', but I personally don't think it's right. ANOTHER EDIT: Please see that I did my homework below, and that this 'exclusion' is for a good reason.



EDIT AGAIN: I admit my knee-jerk response was to blame the prudes.............but as it turns out, this is part of the National Health Plan already!! It's even part of the ACA!!!

Federal Health Reform and Nursing Mothers

President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on March 30, 2010. (See the combined full text of Public Laws 111-148 and 111-152 here.) Among many provisions, Section 4207 of the law amends the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938 (29 U.S. Code 207) to require an employer to provide reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for her nursing child for one year after the child's birth each time such employee has need to express milk.

The employer is not required to compensate an employee receiving reasonable break time for any work time spent for such purpose. The employer must also provide a place, other than a bathroom, for the employee to express breast milk. If these requirements impose undue hardship, an employer that employs fewer than 50 employees is not subject to these requirements. The federal requirements shall not preempt a state law that provides greater protections to employees.

www.ncsl.org...

Huh that is a strange question.

Now if you are actively breastfeeding then that means you have to be around your baby a majority of the day right?

Could it be more about not wanting a baby in the court room?

a reply to: Sremmos80

I am trying to figure it out. Maybe because the baby squawks, and it distracts the courtroom?

a reply to: BuzzyWigs
I offer a hypothesis- the act of breastfeeding distracts both mother and other jurors from hearing all the evidence, which compromises their judgement of it.
Although if this were going to be the reason, "being profoundly deaf" should have been a disqualification as well.

Yeah, that's pretty messed up. Are the rules different for each type of case? If breastfeeding makes you not qualify I'm wondering if it is because of the case they summoned you up for. I've never tried jury duty so I'm clueless to the rules.

This is reasonable, imo. I was a breastfeeder and every three or four hours, you better feed or pump!!

a reply to: DISRAELI

Right? Yes, it should also be on the list.
I do recall that last time a lady who was a potential juror didn't speak English, and the judge threw her out.

It is very interesting to see how the lawyers and judges deal with jury selection.

a reply to: RealTruthSeeker

No, this is just a 'general summons' - randomly selected from driver's license holders....

I have to be available for an entire week beginning August 10. (No problem). Many cases get dismissed or settled, and we have to call the Clerk's office before Monday morning to see if our "Group" has been excused. Sometimes ALL of the "groups" are dismissed because there aren't any cases. It's kind of like being "on call."

Very much like a 'raffle.' We all show up (200 of us, I'd guess). We all sit on hard benches and fill out questionairres. We all listen to the judge and the clerk talk. Then we wait.

Then they come back and call names and let us know who was randomly picked out of the 200. MOST PEOPLE go home then, and then have to call in every day to see if they are to report or not. The afternoon is comprised of going into the courtroom and they do voire dire after presenting what the case is about.

a reply to: queenofswords

I was also a breastfeeder. And yes, I can see how it would be distracting. It just seems really weird that they would print that on the summons ----

Or, maybe not. I have no idea how many breastfeeding moms have been called and if a ruccus was caused. I guess I should look up the history of the law.

a reply to: DISRAELI

I offer a hypothesis- the act of breastfeeding distracts both mother and other jurors from hearing all the evidence, which compromises their judgement of it.

BINGO! It would be very distracting having an infant in the courtroom.

...I still don't really understand why anyone would want to sit on a jury. Seems like breastfeeding mothers would be thrilled at this get out of JD free card.

Many courts request that a person leave children at home and/or in the care of another party for the duration of any court proceedings. A woman who is breastfeeding probably can't reasonably be expected to do that.

Babies cause distraction for all parties in the courtroom. It's not necessarily about the boob (though let's not pretend that isn't part of it) so much as it is the distraction that children are likely to cause.

Now if the mom doesn't need to bring the baby to the courtroom I see zero reason why that would disqualify her

Okay! Well, it turns out that

Seventeen states and Puerto Rico exempt breastfeeding mothers from jury duty or allow jury service to be postponed. (California, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah and Virginia.)

www.ncsl.org...

Health professionals and public health officials promote breastfeeding to improve infant health.

Both mothers and children benefit from breast milk. Breast milk contains antibodies that protect infants from bacteria and viruses. Breastfed children have fewer ear, respiratory and urinary tract infections and have diarrhea less often. Infants who are exclusively breastfed tend to need fewer health care visits, prescriptions and hospitalizations resulting in a lower total medical care cost compared to never-breastfed infants.

Breastfeeding also provides long-term preventative effects for the mother, including an earlier return to pre-pregnancy weight and a reduced risk of pre-menopausal breast cancer and osteoporosis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 77 percent of mothers start breastfeeding immediately after birth, but only about 16 percent of those moms are breastfeeding exclusively six months later.

As a part of the Healthy People 2020 initiative, the national goal is to increase the proportion of mothers who breastfeed their babies in the early postpartum period to 81.9 percent by the year 2020.

WOW! So, it's actually a good thing!!! Well, I am very glad to hear that.
Not a "state" thing (entirely), but part of the National plan. Good.

Yes, babies DO NEED to be breastfed.....
I remember years ago when an article came out in the news that said "Surprise! Doctors have determined that breastmilk is superior to formula, and does the baby better!!!!"

(lol, I'm paraphrasing).

ANyway, thanks all, for your thoughts. Just thought I'd bring it up. And since I posted it before investigating, at first I thought it was some sort of 'public segregation' thing ---

But NOW I understand it is to provide leeway for women to breastfeed - kind of like the extended paternity/maternity leave that is being suggested.

YAY!!!

originally posted by: burdman30ott6
...I still don't really understand why anyone would want to sit on a jury. Seems like breastfeeding mothers would be thrilled at this get out of JD free card.

Right and by the way if you're a felon you are excluded.

Just a point.

Edit - I read the post wrong. I thought you said you were a felon. My apologies.

a reply to: burdman30ott6

I still don't really understand why anyone would want to sit on a jury.

Personally, I feel it would be a fantastic learning experience.

a reply to: Shamrock6

Babies cause distraction for all parties in the courtroom. It's not necessarily about the boob (though let's not pretend that isn't part of it) so much as it is the distraction that children are likely to cause.

Yes, babies absolutely DO cause distraction and disruption.

But also, yeah - I also agree that the 'boob' issue is something.

I got called for jury duty for the first time one month after my first baby was born. I was nursing him as the judge called my name. As soon as he layed eyes on me......I was sent home. I said I was willing, but the judge wouldn't even look directly at me while talking to me. He said I was excused with a valid reason. He seemed very uncomfortable.

Because as a breastfeeding mother you either need your child with you during the day or you need to leave the room for regular intervals and interrupt the proceedings to pump.

It's easier to let the breastfeeding mother take that time she needs to be with her baby and call her up again later on when both she and child have an easier time arranging for her absence.

What if there was a trial coming up that DID require sequestration? That could be a very big deal for a breastfeeding mom and baby depending on her. The baby could be with mom after the court lets out for the day, but I doubt the state would provide any kind of daycare during business hours.