Alabama Mom Says She Was Forced to Attend Jury Duty While Breastfeeding

An Alabama woman is claiming she was forced to attend jury duty while breastfeeding — and it has sparked outrage in her community. 

Kandace Brown of Morris said she was summoned for jury duty in December, according to local news outlet CBS 42. The mom of four told the outlet that she reported to the assigned Jefferson County courthouse on Monday, Jan. 13, with her 3-month-old daughter, Parker.

Brown said she attempted to explain to court officials that she would need to postpone her service due to the fact that her daughter is exclusively breastfed, but she added that she was met with pushback.

In a Facebook post, Brown said, “It was a horrible experience.” Brown further explained that she attempted to formally postpone jury duty using the typical channels before her report date, but she said she was denied. 

“I called and turned in the forms to be excused, and it was not granted,” she wrote in her post, while also sharing that her daughter does not take a bottle and pumping during jury duty was impossible.

In the post, Brown also noted that there were two other mothers at the courthouse at the time and that they were also told they would need to make accommodations for their children. She claimed that one of the judges threatened to get the Department of Human Services (DHR) involved should accommodations not be made.

While speaking to CBS, Brown said that a judge got on a microphone in the courthouse and said, “I can’t see the children, but I hear that kids are here today. You need to make accommodations for your child to come and be picked up. We would hate for DHR to be involved.”

“And so, we’re like, ‘Oh gosh, surely this can’t happen,’ ” she recalled.

Brown told the outlet that while she was ultimately dismissed for jury duty that day, a representative from the court told her she was not excused for the week — despite the fact that her childcare situation — and the needs of her infant — were unchanged.

“I’m not saying that every mom in the state of Alabama should be excused — at all,” she told the outlet. “I will serve when I [don’t] have a child that depends on me for life — for nourishment.”

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In a statement to Alabama publication AL.com, Judge Shanta Owens — one of the judges reportedly present that day — called the situation with Brown and her infant a “misunderstanding.”

“The juror was indeed excused a short time after arriving for jury service, as was any other similarly situated individual called for jury service,” Owens’ statement read. “I, too, am a mother and have been a breastfeeding mother previously and therefore, would excuse jury service for a period of time for any individual under the circumstances.”

PEOPLE has reached out to Judge Owens, as well as several other judges at the Jefferson County circuit court, for comment but did not immediately hear back on Friday, Jan. 17.

In her Facebook post, Brown noted that she has since done research on protections for nursing mothers called to jury duty in the state of Alabama and was “appalled” to find that there are none.

In a Jan. 14 follow-up Facebook post, Brown shared that state auditor and former legislator Andrew Sorrell has reached out to her about working to get bill HB369 — a bill designed to help nursing Alabama mothers receive exemption from jury duty — passed in the state legislature.

“We do need other mother’s experiences pertaining to this!” Brown wrote in her post, before calling on other Alabama moms to share similar experiences.

“Please message me here on FB and share your story, so we can have as many stories as possible to take to committee! I’ve seen many comments but many are being lost so please message me if you have had any experiences like this you can share,” she added.