# East Boston Cat Called For Jury Duty **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 13, 2010, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/east-boston-cat-called-for-jury-duty/524777 "2010-01-13T11:08:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/east-boston-cat-called-for-jury-duty/524777/1 "2010-01-13T11:08:58Z")
Mundane and pointless, but amusing: [Boston cat called for jury duty.](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34763313/) > [@](#): > > Anna filed for Sal’s disqualification of service. However, the jury commissioner was unmoved and denied the request. > > Sal’s service date at Suffolk Superior Court is set for March 23. Anna said that if the issue isn’t cleared up by then, she will simply have to bring the cat to court. Maybe they have caught a really bad kitty and need a trial of his peers. ---
**Author:** ![zelie\_zelerton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/59ef9b/32.png) [@zelie\_zelerton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zelie_zelerton)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/east-boston-cat-called-for-jury-duty/524777/2 "2010-01-13T11:21:55Z")
I read about this. She put false entries on a census document and somehow it’s the court who are in the wrong? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/east-boston-cat-called-for-jury-duty/524777/3 "2010-01-13T11:27:53Z")
> [@zelie\_zelerton](#): > > I read about this. She put false entries on a census document and somehow it’s the court who are in the wrong? Ummmm. > [@](#): > > Sal’s owners, Guy and Anna Esposito, think they may know the source of the mix up: Sal really is a member of the family, so on the last Census form, Anna Esposito listed him under “pets”. > > “I just wrote ‘Sal Esposito’, scratched out the ‘dog,’ and wrote, ‘cat,’” said Anna. Which means by your interpretation, they are trying to call what they think is a dog in for jury duty. So yeah, either way they are wrong. ---
**Author:** ![zelie\_zelerton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/59ef9b/32.png) [@zelie\_zelerton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zelie_zelerton)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/east-boston-cat-called-for-jury-duty/524777/4 "2010-01-13T11:32:17Z")
Why on earth would a governing body ask for details of pets on a census form? Or am I grossly misunderstanding what a census form is used for in your country? In the UK one of the main reasons is to work out population variables so that funding can be allocated (hopefully) appropriately in the future. There would be no need for animals to be included on that. So what gives? Americans want to know about the existence of every hamster? I’m curious, how often does the census form go out? Here it’s every decade. Logically a lot of pets would be born, live and die within that time so do you have to fill in a census form every year or something ridiculous like that? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/east-boston-cat-called-for-jury-duty/524777/5 "2010-01-13T12:18:19Z")
> [@zelie\_zelerton](#): > > Why on earth would a governing body ask for details of pets on a census form? Or am I grossly misunderstanding what a census form is used for in your country? In the UK one of the main reasons is to work out population variables so that funding can be allocated (hopefully) appropriately in the future. There would be no need for animals to be included on that. > > So what gives? Americans want to know about the existence of every hamster? I’m curious, how often does the census form go out? Here it’s every decade. Logically a lot of pets would be born, live and die within that time so do you have to fill in a census form every year or something ridiculous like that? No, she’s just a twit that regards the household moggie as her “baby”. :rolleyes::smack: ---
**Author:** ![zelie\_zelerton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/59ef9b/32.png) [@zelie\_zelerton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zelie_zelerton)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/east-boston-cat-called-for-jury-duty/524777/6 "2010-01-13T12:32:10Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > No, she’s just a twit that regards the household moggie as her “baby”. :rolleyes::smack: Yup, that was my estimation. One of those idiots who thought it would be funny to put the animals on an official form and then is pissed off that the processing computer didn’t get the joke. So now she has to go to court to explain herself. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Marlitharn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@Marlitharn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marlitharn)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/east-boston-cat-called-for-jury-duty/524777/7 "2010-01-13T13:11:26Z")
[Here’s](http://www.census.gov/dmd/www/pdf/d02p.pdf) the U.S. Census form from 2000 (PDF). [Here’s](http://2010.census.gov/2010census/how/interactive-form.php) this year’s. Neither one of them say anything about pets. I wonder if she was talking about something like a personal property tax assessment sheet or some other kind of local or state form; IIRC some of those do ask about pets, and I can see her local court system pulling prospective jurors names from, say, the County Collector’s office more easily than from a U.S. Census form. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/east-boston-cat-called-for-jury-duty/524777/8 "2010-01-13T13:21:08Z")
Yeah, it seems likely that it was some form other than census if there was a place to list pets, and she’s just mis-remembering. It’s okay. Any defense lawyer worth a damn will use one of the peremptory strikes to reject a cat juror – cats are not known for mercy. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/east-boston-cat-called-for-jury-duty/524777/9 "2010-01-13T14:08:53Z")
I, for one, hope that Sal gets to go to court. Fuck it, I hope he gets appointed jury forfeline. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/east-boston-cat-called-for-jury-duty/524777/10 "2010-01-13T16:07:52Z")
> [@Marlitharn](#): > > [Here’s](http://www.census.gov/dmd/www/pdf/d02p.pdf) the U.S. Census form from 2000 (PDF). [Here’s](http://2010.census.gov/2010census/how/interactive-form.php) this year’s. Neither one of them say anything about pets. I wonder if she was talking about something like a personal property tax assessment sheet or some other kind of local or state form; IIRC some of those do ask about pets, and I can see her local court system pulling prospective jurors names from, say, the County Collector’s office more easily than from a U.S. Census form. I agree that it’s highly unlikely that the court system got the cat as a potential juror from a census form. For one thing, IIRC the census department only provides general demographic information to other government bodies; I don’t think they release specific info like names. I’m not sure what sort of local form would request info on pets. I think Illinois, where I used to live, used a combination of voter and driver registrations. The first time I was called for jury duty was shortly I had gotten my first apartment, and it seemed like every time after that I would get called soon after I moved. Haven’t gotten called up since I moved down to NC, though. I do remember that when I got my state ID card the DMV also handled my voter registration, though. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/east-boston-cat-called-for-jury-duty/524777/11 "2010-01-13T16:15:28Z")
> [@Marlitharn](#): > > [Here’s](http://www.census.gov/dmd/www/pdf/d02p.pdf) the U.S. Census form from 2000 (PDF). [Here’s](http://2010.census.gov/2010census/how/interactive-form.php) this year’s. Neither one of them say anything about pets. I wonder if she was talking about something like a personal property tax assessment sheet or some other kind of local or state form; IIRC some of those do ask about pets, and I can see her local court system pulling prospective jurors names from, say, the County Collector’s office more easily than from a U.S. Census form. Surely the census form, which is now just short of ten years old, would be an inefficient way of finding prospective jurors - too many strike-outs due to people having died or changed address. And wouldn’t be illegal to put a cat down as a resident - basically lying about a resident? Nah, she’s got to be referring to some other form. The cat’ll eventually be rejected under some claws or other anyway. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/east-boston-cat-called-for-jury-duty/524777/12 "2010-01-13T16:35:56Z")
> [@scifisam2009](#): > > The cat’ll eventually be rejected under some claws or other anyway. I suppose you think you were being purrfectly clever with that. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/east-boston-cat-called-for-jury-duty/524777/13 "2010-01-13T16:40:22Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > I suppose you think you were being purrfectly clever with that. It made me paws. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/east-boston-cat-called-for-jury-duty/524777/14 "2010-01-13T16:47:07Z")
> [@scifisam2009](#): > > The cat’ll eventually be rejected under some claws or other anyway. Well now you’ve hurt its felines. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/east-boston-cat-called-for-jury-duty/524777/15 "2010-01-13T17:04:47Z")
I thought jury pools everywhere in the US were drawn from voter registration. Is this not the case? ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/east-boston-cat-called-for-jury-duty/524777/16 "2010-01-13T17:11:04Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > It’s okay. Any defense lawyer worth a damn will use one of the peremptory strikes to reject a cat juror – cats are not known for mercy. Nope. You’d challenge for [del]paws[/del] cause first. You save preempts for jurors you don’t want but can’t challenge for cause, or the challenge is denied. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/east-boston-cat-called-for-jury-duty/524777/17 "2010-01-13T17:17:03Z")
“Your Honor, will you please order Juror number 7 to not lick his butt in the courtroom?” ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/east-boston-cat-called-for-jury-duty/524777/18 "2010-01-13T17:41:54Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > Yeah, it seems likely that it was some form other than census if there was a place to list pets, and she’s just mis-remembering. > > It’s okay. Any defense lawyer worth a damn will use one of the peremptory strikes to reject a cat juror – cats are not known for mercy. > [@tdn](#): > > I, for one, hope that Sal gets to go to court. Fuck it, I hope he gets appointed jury forfeline. > [@Projammer](#): > > I thought jury pools everywhere in the US were drawn from voter registration. Is this not the case? Cats are known for many things, but not for mercy. I can just imagine Sal sitting on the jury, giving either the defendant or the judge the Evil Eye, and then deciding to wash his face…or his butt. At any rate, Sal is almost certainly too young to serve on a jury. Most cats just don’t live to the age of 18, despite the best efforts of their humans. On a more serious note, yes, voter registration is one of the ways that jurors are selected. They are also selected from those who have a driver’s license or state ID. I know one of my old bosses was royally pissed off when they started to use the DL names, because she’d avoided registering to vote specifically because she didn’t want jury duty. She also believed that her vote didn’t make a difference. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/east-boston-cat-called-for-jury-duty/524777/19 "2010-01-13T17:45:06Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > “Your Honor, will you please order Juror number 7 to not lick his butt in the courtroom?” “And the cat too.” ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/east-boston-cat-called-for-jury-duty/524777/20 "2010-01-13T17:51:32Z")
I just love that his name is Sal Esposito. He sounds like a goomba. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/east-boston-cat-called-for-jury-duty/524777.md?page=2)