A Gravity Diagnostics employee sued his employer for throwing him a birthday party after he requested that they refrain from doing so. He sued and the jury awarded him $450,000 for lost wages and mental anguish. Credit: iStock Sugar Daddies as a Jury Duty Excuse and Other Strangeness at the Courthouse
The Covington, Kentucky-based provider of laboratory testing services was sued by an employee who requested—days before his August 2019 birthday—that the office manager refrain from arranging any kind of celebration.
May 23, 2022 at 07:48 PM
6 minute read
Cases and Courts
Over the course of 33 years in courtrooms all over Texas, I thought I'd seen it all. But then I ventured online and learned about the vast universe of legal weirdness out there. For example, the recent jury selection in Florida of the high-profile sentencing of Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz featured one of the oddest excuses for avoiding jury duty that I've ever heard. Given that the trial is likely to last several months, Broward County Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer was prepared to hear health- and family-related hardship excuses. But she was taken aback by the excuse proffered by a prospective juror identified only as "Miss Bristol," who said she would have a tough time serving because "I have my sugar daddy" and "I see him every day." Scherer said she was "not exactly sure" what the married Bristol was referring to, but she was dismissed nonetheless. Somewhere out there, judge, a sugar daddy thanks you.
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