Jury Duty

I was going through a stack of my dad’s (slowly dwindling) mail last night, and I found a jury summons dated a month after he died. Can you imagine? A judge asking an urn whether it knows the defendant. What’s your opinion on capital punishment, pile of ashes?

I tossed the notice—I figured they can’t fine a dead man for failing to appear. Or can they? I Googled this, and it actually happens a lot. Looks like most county courts ask that you either write “deceased” on the summons and return it to them by post, or email them so they can remove your dead loved one from the jury pool. Some may require a death certificate.

Search your county and state + jury summons + deceased, and that should do the trick. Your dead parents will no longer be asked to judge the living.