Jury Duty Exception Letter

As a therapist, it is our job to protect our clients from harm if we can. How could seeing the images in court and passing down such judgement, not harm a client who is struggling with mental illness. 

Kaplan and Winget (1992) conducted a study about the physical and psychological hazards when serving in stressful criminal jury trials. The stressors may have been the:

• nature of the trial
• trial’s duration
• testimony and evidence presented
• difficulty of determining guilt or innocence
• how well the jurors got along
• length of sequestration
• how the public felt about the case
• backgrounds of the jurors.

About two-thirds of jurors admitted to experiencing at least one physical and/or psychological symptom, ranging from transient experiences to significant illnesses (e.g., sleeplessness, intestinal problems, tension, headaches, heart palpitations, and depression). Others have found that jurors in difficult cases may experience weight loss, nervousness, hypervigilance, and mental exhaustion (Hafemeister, 1993).

These symptoms are word for word out of the anxiety and trauma sections of the DSM and for clients who already have anxiety and trauma, it can significantly impact their functioning and sabotage treatment outcomes. 

If client's express anxiety when they are picked for jury duty I don't hesitate to offer them a letter to excuse them and obtain a release of information. 

There is too much gate keeping in our field. If its because the provider does not know how or have time to write the letter, we would like to take that concern off your plate. 

Buy our Jury letter and plug in the information your client approves on an ROI and fax it off. We will send you a PDF and a word document of the jury letter. 

You start by filling out the courts information and then add your agency information. 

You can then add the clients information that they consented to into the [BRACKETS]

Last replace the logo and add your email signature and you're good to go. 

Resources:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/emotional-nourishment/201905/can-serving-jury-be-harmful