I'm wondering if anyone works in the courts or has any experience with jury duty?
My mum has always suffered from anxiety and panic disorder, but in recent years it has been severe, and she developed depression too. There was extensive consultant level input (outpatients). In the last few years it has been largely under control (with the help of carefully balanced medication), and by that I mean she is functional and isn't passing out frequently, crying constantly, falling into deep depression, or spending half the time on the loo. Things can and do unsettle her and all of these symptoms happen sometimes.
She's 73, and received a jury service letter a few weeks ago 😱 She sent it back asking to be excused on the basis of her health and gave a brief outline. They still haven't responded 2+ weeks later and she is getting worse and worse as it hangs over her. It will be awful if she is forced to do it, there is no way it will be anything other than a waste of time for the court and traumatic for her to turn up and try. I don't even know if I could get her in the building.
Does anyone have any advice here? Are they likely to excuse her on the basis of this? What if they don't, who can I speak to to try and explain the impact here? I've tried to reassure her that if she is told to go she will be fine, we will support her with the travelling (I'm not sure practically how though!), and she's likely to just sit and be bored for a while etc. She's actually very turned on and is often a very useful type, but her mental health is under as much control as is possible and it still isn't up to this.
So, I'm trying to get my head around this before she gets a response so I can be prepared - any advice would be very much appreciated.