Two months after Kestrel was born, I recieved a summons to jury duty. Laughing, I indicated my postponement (wrote “just gave birth” on the form), and didn’t give it another thought.
Two days ago, I recieved another summons. Hm. Someone is obviously unclear on the concept. So I phoned.
“You can only have one six month extension,” the drone on the other end tells me.
“So, that means you’re going to give me a break every two hours to pump, since I’m a breastfeeding mother, right?”
Silence. Silence. More silence.
“Put that on your form, and send it back for another six months.”
“So I just keep filling these out every six months?”
Silence. Silence. More silence.
“Well, past a year, you’ll need a doctor’s note” says the drone.
Silence. Silence. More silence.
“Right. I’ll do that.” And I hang up.
And lunge for my Wise Woman Pals and my Google. My pal Monica tells me,
Ah. Yeah, LA County is the same way… six months. But Rule 859 of the Rules of Court for California says the extension is supposed to be for a full year, renewable without a court appearance (and it doesn’t say anything at all about a doctor’s note). The six-month thing and requiring a doctor’s note is not about breastfeeding, but instead about the way their computer system works.
I wrote a letter to the LA County Superior Court Director of Juror Services about the matter… I’ll paste it below. Feel free to use any part of it in writing your own such letter. 
Of course, around here, it probably helps that the California laws written to guarantee breastfeeding moms breaks and space to pump when working was written by the current Mayor of Los Angeles…
Aha! So this has nothing to do with biology, and everything to do with technology!
So, in the words of my man Arlo, if you know someone in a similar situation, or you are in a similar situation, here’s the framework of Monica’s letter:
Superior Court Juror Services Division
Dear XXXXX:
I am impressed by the clean look of the new jury service notices, and the comprehensive automated telephone and computer system newly employed by the Juror Services Division. I am, however, disappointed to see that it does not allow the Los Angeles Superior Court to easily comply with Rule 859, Deferral of Jury Service for breastfeeding mothers.
As I am sure you are aware, Rule 859 allows a breastfeeding mother to defer jury service for up to one year, and to renew this postponement without appearing in court. The form sent out to jurors includes no appropriate section for mothers to indicate this, however. The pamphlet included in the envelope instructs mothers requesting this postponement to call (800) 778-5879, but none of the voice prompts are appropriate to the situation. Rather than asking the system for a “postponement,†which will only allow 90 days, a breastfeeding mother must ask for an “excuse,†and speak to a representative.
I spoke to a very polite gentleman who informed me that he could only offer me a six-month extension, unless I presented a doctor’s note. Rule 859 is very clear that no appearances or special documentation are required to receive a one-year postponement. It became clear in the conversation that the limitation was in the computer system itself; it simply wasn’t possible for him to postpone my service by a full year at once.
I look forward to this discrepancy between the Rules of Court and your new system to be resolved in the near future.
Thank you,
OK, so now we’ve identified the problem, and we’ve spoken our piece about the solution. But I find myself wondering what women who don’t have resourceful pals and computer research skills do? Do they think they have to show up? Does the mandate to serve on a jury compromise their breastfeeding relationship? I personally can’t imagine anything more stressful than court, and everyone knows that stress affects milk production. Between the inability to pump regularly and the stress, I can see real problems.
Of course, I’m pretty sure that the population for whom this is a problem is really small. Not many mothers in this world breastfeed more than six months anyway, so I’m kinda guessing I’m a bit of a token freak here. But it makes you wonder, doesn’t it? The underlying cultural assumptions I bounced off in this adventure are:
- That serving jury duty is more important than being with my baby
- That extended breastfeeding somehow needs a doctor’s supervision
- That you won’t breastfeed past a year anyway
- That you’re ignorant of the law in California
- That their computer setup is more relevant than the law
Chilling. Truly chilling. Just highlights how important it is that if you’re going to be a breastfeeding mother in this culture, you had better have access to education. And not a little bit of spine, for standing up to fools and functionaries.