Sal the Cat: Summoned for Jury Duty
Published February 17, 2010
For many folk who are summoned for Jury Duty, this official "invitation's RSVP options do not provide an easy out if the recipient does not wish or cannot attend without a very compelling reason. Of course Jury Duty is a very important part of our judicial system, and the good news is that the potential juror may even be chosen to participate in a fascinating trial. So it is really wise to keep an open mind.
Photo credit: Eirik Newth/Flickr
But there are those of us who shudder, whine and complain with our lot, and are not in the least motivated to take part in any court room drama. And some of us actually find some interesting ways to get out of our civic duty and go to extreme lengths to be excused.
However, according to the "National Ledger" Sal, a family member who resides with Anna and Guy Esposito in East Boston, Massachusetts, has been summoned to appear in the Suffolk Superior Court on March 23. 2010. When Sal was informed of his status, The Espositos observed that Sal was not a happy camper by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, Mr. and Mrs. Esposito are determined to find a way to get Sal excused.
And if Sal was a responsible candidate for this task, the Espositos would not be involved in this endeavor. But you see Sal happens to be a domestic feline. Mr. Esposito received Sal's jury duty summons in the mail and the couple are working feverishly to get this whole matter straightened out, according to MSNBC Mews... er... News!
Mr. and Mrs. Esposito suspect that this whole mix-up began when they made an error on the last census form. Anna Esposito listed Sal under the "pets" section on the questionnaire. Anna told MSNBC News, "I just wrote 'Sal Esposito', scratched out the word "dog" and wrote 'cat'. Even though Anna attempted to disqualify Sal, the Jury Commissioner turned a deaf ear on her appeal and refused to correct it.
So as of the date of this blog item, Sal is expected to make an appearance on March 23. Since Anna has no intention of breaking the law, she says that if this matter is not cleared up in time, she will be forced to bring Sal to court to report for duty to be in compliance with the notice.
However as I think more deeply about it, I have to wonder if Sal was actually approved by the attorneys representing the plaintiff and the defendant, would he prefer to enjoy his 15 minutes of fame, dressed properly for the occasion of course while he sat in the jury box along with the 11 other members serving that day over being excused?
After watching the newsworthy video below, uploaded to YouTube by sp4cec00kie, please share your opinion on the story by leaving a comment.
Shortly after retiring as a social worker and psychotherapist, I discovered my "writer's voice"…
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Comments (10)
aome people will do anything to appear in print, And many people will believe it and perpetuate the myth.
aleece
Discussion on Sal's chances of being allowed to participate as a juror: First, I don't think either lawyer will want to use one of their preemptory challenges to strike Sal from the list. Second, Sal is unlikely to say anything during the jury selection process that anyone could find Sal to be "remover for cause" unless "being a cat" would be considered cause due to "cat" not being a protected or suspect class under equal protection analysis. However, Sal's biggest challenge will be signing into the courthouse. They will have to process a waiver of signature which again may be difficult due to "cat" not being a currently accepted disability. Finally, some courthouses have 'disruptive items' bans and these may include animals other than see-ing eye dogs and similarly trained animals. Thank you Sal for brightening my day.
It sounds like Sal will have to be taken to court to prove the mistake that was made in his being called for jury duty since the jury commissioner turned a deaf ear to the situation. I would love to see their faces when they realize their mistake.
I always thought they got the jurors from the rolls of registered voters. Never heard of it from the Census. Regardless, this story is just ridiculous and I hope they bring Sal into court to prove the points. Hopefully, with copies of his "papers" ... perhaps his tags from the county or shot records from the vet. Something that indicates that his name is Sal and his owners are the Espositos.
Rani
HAAHAHAHAHAHAAHAA!!!!!!!!!
Little Sal is soooooo.....CUTE!!!!
That jury commissioner should be ashamed of himself! -Although, I would've just used a sharpie and written real big on the form: SAL IS A CAT. and just sent that back.
I'm curious if this story is going to make people reluctant to declare their pets on their census forms... Silly as the story is, I'm sure some people are going to think of what a headache it would be to clear something like this up. ....Hmmm...I think I just might be one of those people...
Go Sal! Confront the System!
What a good story Jo lol It's a pity we can't have cats on the Jury when animal abusers are up for trial, they'd certianly get the punishment they deserved then !