ts going to jury duty

[michelle19845]

tuesday i have to see if i get picked for jury duty.i drive a long distance for me atleast,45+ minutes to see if i get picked.i no longer have men's dress shoes,dark dress pants,nor "dress shirts".the only male clothing i have is for social cold weather outings(jeans 1 pair and flannel shirts) i have 6 pairs of heels that are fancy,3 black dress pants,1 blazer and some blouses that match the blazer.i tend to dress as a full female,make up nails,style own hair ,wear black dress pants (female) and a blazer and blouse to the juror selection thing i go to tuesday.i don't expect much of a problem,since the hair is long and curly and i have my note from the psych,i can't see much of a worry.i'll let them know i "look a lil differen't" otherwise i stilll have the same name and will be starting hormones an less than 2 weeks.
if i wore a male outfit i would look like a woman dressing as a man,due to hair and some facial things.what are your thoughts.i don't have much for money to buy some suite thing anyways ,my hours of work have been low.


michelle19845

[Calliope]

I have every reason to suspect things will go fine - uneventful and on course. Wear what you got. Act bored like everyone else. Nothing to it, I bet.

[Bobbie cd]

Michelle,

Since it appears that you are fully transitioning and are normally in full feminine mode, I don't see any logical reason for you to spend money that you don't have on clothes that you wouldn't ordinarily wear just to satisfy someone else's idea of proprietry. Dress nicely the way you would for any sort of non-casual event, like perhaps for a job interview.

If the court officers want to get uppity about it, they will most likely just not pick you and you may therefore get out of the whole thing early on, which would then put less stress on you to have to travel to be involved in the process.

[Lisa Maren]

Hi Michelle

I might be asked to report for jury duty this month myself. The last two years in a row, I've been called at this time of year. Two years ago it was nothing but last year I was even on a jury. Fortunately I'm still male on the outside (although I did have my eyebrows "cleaned up" yesterday :heehee: )

Anyway, I can see that your circumstances are challenging. If the courtrooms there are anything like the courtrooms here, people have to walk through metal detectors and there are bailifs in the courtroom even during jury selection, so the court house itself is likely a safe place for you.

You may wish to have a friend accompany you and wait outside the courtroom at least for the jury selection process and then that friend can make the trip there and back with you for added safety.

I'm afraid I don't know much about social attitudes in Indiana, and I live in San Francisco myself, but if you're not breaking any laws -- and you're not -- you'll probably be safe.

If anyone else here is from Indiana, can you please comment on the following? Another possibility is that you might be able to ask a bailif to escort you back to your car or find someone else who can if needed. Again, I know the bailif might do that or have someone else do that here in San Francisco, but I don't know much about Indiana.

Best of luck with the jury selection and with your transition. :)

Hugs,
Lisa

[michelle19845]

i thank you very much for your comments.they boosted my confidence a lil more.i gotta get ready to go out tonight with a t friend and then sleep early so i can get up for this thing at 5am.thanks again.


michelle19845

[Shelly Preston]

Michelle

You may want to contact the court
I assume they will read your name out but if your name is not male or is unisex it may not be a problem
They may be able to take your circumstances into account and use your female name after informing the court officials

[michelle19845]

i called and couldn't get through to the number before i go in and i tried online,found out it says not to report until wdnesday ,not tuesday.they sure make it a joke.i just don't wanna be there with the weather,not to mention,the hassle of a long drive.for the record,my name is michael in the books as i say,for now atleast,michelle will be a later thing.

[janedoe311]

The chances are they will let you go.

I got off by saying I was ADD and this whole thing freaked me out, (which was true)

I was crying by the time I got out of the court room.

They want "normal" people so just tell the truth.