by
Anonymous
Hello Friends,
You may or may not know me personally; my name is Siri Wright. I am the Boise mother going to trial for not leaving my nursing child in order to serve on jury duty. Many people have been helping to share my story so you may have heard some of what has been happening. Here is the rest. I am the mother of two small children, 4 and 2. My daughter is still nursing. She has never been away from me. We are indeed a unit. My children have never been to daycare and have never had a babysitter. Idaho law provides that " a mother nursing her child shall have jury service postponed until she is no longer nursing the child." (Idaho Code, section 2-209) The jury commissioner, Marji Shepherd, had grudgingly postponed me from jury service and refused to postpone me any longer. On August 28, 1999 I received a call from Marji Shepherd. She said I had to give her a date within the next four months when my daughter would stop nursing and I could serve. I explained, as I had explained our situation to her before, that I was not able to give her a date, but that I would be happy to serve when my children were not so dependant upon my care. She told me that that was unacceptable and assigned me a new jury service date for December. On December 9, 1999 at 8:00 a.m., I reported, with my children, to the jury commissioner's office. Upon giving the clerk my reporting number, Marji Shepherd stormed out of her office. She snapped, "CHILDREN ARE NOT ALLOWED IN HERE! THIS IS NO PLACE FOR CHILDREN!" I told her I agreed that it was not. I again explained my circumstances. I explained that my daughter was still nursing and could not be separated from me, that my children had never had a babysitter, that I had no daycare and had no money for one, and that I had no family in state. I also explained that my husband was away on a mobile job and was unreachable. She insisted, "THAT'S JUST NOT THE WAY THE WORLD WORKS!" Then she demanded, "YOU TAKE THEM SOMEWHERE AND YOU'D BETTER DO IT FAST BECAUSE THEY'RE ABOUT TO START!" I told her I was not able to do that. She said, "I'M MARKING YOU DOWN AS A NO SHOW!" and then said that she would procede with having me prosecuted for contempt of court. Her hostile tirade finally ended with her saying , "AND DON'T YOU DARE BRING THOSE KIDS WITH YOU TO COURT!" This was very upsetting to the children and my little boy clung to my leg, actually trembling. At my home on Monday, January 24th at 2:30 p.m,. I was served with an order to appear in court. Two deputy marshals served me with a summons and one pointed to the hearing date, Wednesday, January 26, 9:00 a.m. "As you can see", he snickered, "that's comin' right up." (This was not the legal amount of time between service and court. "An order to show cause must be served at least 5 days prior to the date of the hearing."[Idaho Court Rules, Rule 6 © (2)) At the court hearing just over a day later, Judge Horton did not dismiss the case as I had hoped. Rather, he chose to take it to trial. I plead not guilty to a charge of criminal contempt. This charge carries a penalty of 3 days in jail and a $100 fine. The attorney was able to get a continuance and I was assigned a trial date of March 13. I feel the charges were not dismissed at the first hearing because the judge, the prosecutor and the jury commissioner intend to make an example of me. I believe the judge has already made up his mind. As it turns out, it was Judge Horton's court in which I was unable to serve on the jury. It seems as if he has taken my inability to serve, personally. I am asking for as many people as possible to join me at the courthouse on Monday, March 13th at 9:00 a.m. I believe who is watching and how many are watching will be what it takes to influence Judge Horton's decision on the day of the trial. I wish I could rely on the fact that the law is on my side. However, since the law has not been followed so far I must rely on silent support at the courthouse on the morning of the trial. I hope that the support of the community and the media coverage (there will be media coverage) will cause the judge to reconsider his position. Perhaps, with many eyes upon him, it would be too costly professionally to convict a mother who has not broken the law. I care for my children at home, myself. That is not illegal. This situation has caused such upheaval in our lives and I don't want any other family to have to go through this ordeal. This is an important issue not only for nursing mothers but also for single income families, single parents, homeschoolers, and anyone home with children or caring for family members. I wonder how many other people have been put through something like this? If you would kindly forward this letter to two people it would encourage others to show their support and help raise community awareness surrounding this unnecessary injustice. The trial is Monday, March 13 at 9:00 a.m. The Ada County Courthouse is located at 514 W Jefferson. (just east of the Capitol building on the next block) Judge Horton's court is on the 3rd floor and the courtroom will be posted. This is a show of support; not a protest and no one will be called to testify. Please feel free to contact me if you have and questions or comments, or would like to help further. I'd love to have a copy of any letters or e-mails sent on my behalf.
Sincerely,
Siri Wright
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