In my country (not US), I’ve been given a summons by the court in order to appear for Jury Duty (and of course it’s mandatory to show up on the appointed date), but I have Autism (makes it difficult for me to interact with strangers and have distrust towards the authorities). I was last diagnosed when I was around 15 years old whilst the first was since 7.
The only thing I have that somewhat counts as medical proof as a psychological assessment on paper confirming I have Autism (as in on the spectrum) back when I was in 9th grade. Even if I waited through the jury panel, and for some reason the lawyer/s decided I should become a juror (despite not wanting to for medical reasons), could I use that as evidence?
However, will the judge accept that even though it’s an confirmed medical diagnosis from when I was a teen after pleading my case as to why I am ineligible to serve (difficulty on interacting with others, difficulties with understanding social cues or heightened anxiety), although even if excused: will that be considered permanent or temporary?
I’m autistic and was recently summonsed for Jury Duty. I’m high functioning, and actually wanted to do it but as a single parent it wasn’t possible, so I had a different reason to excuse. Autistic people are part of society too, and we usually have a very strong sense of justice and fairness. But often there are distressing details in court cases, so if your anxiety is likely to be extreme then I think that alone is reason to be excused.