Can I Just Denounce My Citizenship?

Sometimes there are things that happen in America that just make you want to go live in a different country. Not really, but I just don't understand how a law abiding citizen who has given three wonderful law abiding children to this country can be treated so badly.

I am severely claustrophobic. I know my limitations and live a very normal life and am a very normal person otherwise. I stay away from those things which could cause me to have a panic attack. I don't ride elevators, I don't fly in planes, in crowds I stay in the peripheries and by the doors. I always know where the exits are. I keep a flashlight with me in case the lights would go out in areas of no windows.

But the thing I cannot do is be held captive in a situation where I cannot get up and leave to go outside if I start feeling like I can't breathe. And the only way that would happen in the life I lead is to get jury duty. And in our town, jurors are required to stay in the basement of the courthouse untill called. I know I could never do that. So everytime I get jury duty which seems to be at least once a year I am required to get a doctor's excuse.

Well when I got my summons in April I called the doctor I had gotten my letter from the last three times and he refused. I was floored and didn't really know what to do. I made an appointment with another doctor and was refused again. I called a counselor and she said she couldn't do anything for me. I was told all the docs in town had been threatened by a certain judge here in St. Joe and quit giving excuses to anyone, even a person who really needed it.

My husband said not to worry I probably wouldn't have to go anyway as most of the time there are no jury trials. But with my luck there was and I had to go. He went with me to explain my situation to the people and the judge there. No one would listen, they just said I had to go to that basement or I could be put in jail. Well of course jail would be a claustrophobic person's worse nightmare, so I went down and and suffered a severe panic attack after about five minutes. My husband had to practically carry me back up the stairs and outside. Some of the people who witnessed it got me a wheelchair and wanted to call an ambulance. A court deputy that helped me said not to worry she would tell those downstairs what had happened. She came back and said I could go home but my duty would only be postponed. I thought well that's nice I get to come back and go through this all over again. If you have never had one, let me say panic attacks are no fun, and that is why I avoid them like the plague. So now I get to keep coming back again and again and doing the same thing until I either have a nervous breakdown or heart attack.

Well that ruined one day of my life, but decided to try another doctor in the meantime and made an appointment and I felt I had a little time to try again and if not here surely I could find someone in KC.

All that happened this Tuesday. Today I had a deputy come to my door and serve me a summons for not showing up for jury duty. I thought he had come to take me to jail which caused another panic attack and he called in an ambulance because I couldn't breathe. When I could finally get my wits about me and he told me it was for not showing up, I told him I did show up and they told me to go home. He couldn't believe they were summoning me to court if I had gone. He tried calling the court to resolve it over the phone but they wouldn't listen to him even though he and about 4 EMTs had witnessed the attack.

I believe this judge is out to get me now and use me for an example. It is hard to believe that after all the witnesses I had as to the attacks he would still want me to come before him to explain why I can't do jury duty. Really it seems that some people have no humanity.

I have also found out that in the state of Missouri there is a law in the consitution of MO in the Bill of Rights, section 22b that states: No citizen shall be disqualified from jury service because of sex, but the court shall excuse any woman who requests exemption therefrom before being sworn as a juror. This is still in the constitution, I checked it today but don't know if it was over ruled by the Supreme Court in the Case of Duran vs. Missouri. But why would it still be on the books? If a law is there is it still a law.

If it is really still a law then I believed it is the judge and the jury administration office who broke the law by not excusing me when I asked. I don't know, we are going to go see a lawyer after the holiday.

Oh well I guess I get to spend my nice holiday weekend worrying.