Boston Cat Hopes to Meow Out of Jury Duty March 23rd

Sal Esposito of East Boston, Massachusetts, received a jury summons in the mail recently, but he refuses to serve. In fact, the fur seems to be flying in the Bay State.

Here's the catch: Sal Esposito is a cat, and the Suffolk Superior Court will not let him off the hook.

How was a cat called for jury duty in Boston?

Apparently, Sal Esposito's owners, Guy and Anna Esposito, listed their favored feline on their recent U.S. Census form under the heading marked "Pets." In due time, a jury summons appeared in the family's residential mailbox, addressed to the tabby cat living in the home.

Massachusetts jury summons are generally sent at least three months ahead of actual assignments, and those receiving such notices may petition for postponements up to one year apiece, according to Massachusetts Jury System requirements.

Guy and Anna Esposito filed for disqualification of their feline pet from jury duty, pointing out that their cat is unable to speak or understand the English Language. Apparently, the jury exemption form did not include a checkbox to indicate that the respondent is not even human, but feline. And the cat's family seems not to have appealed for disqualification on the basis of age, as jurors in Massachusetts must be between the ages of 18 and 70 years, or noting that the cat is not an official American citizen.

The Espositos' cat-exemption petition (for linguistic reasons alone) was rejected summarily by the jury commissioner.

Surely the Suffolk County court system of Massachusetts has heard nearly every excuse in the proverbial book from those attempting to bow out of jury duty. But they may never have heard from a real-life four-footed cat before. Certainly, this kitty has cause - and probably also claws - for exemption from jury duty, even in Suffolk County, Massachusetts.

Guy Esposito explained that the family cat may actually possess a certain amount of legal expertise, but that he still is not eligible for the appointed civic service. "He likes to sit on my knee and watch crime shows with me," Guy Esposito recounted. "But even so, he's still under-qualified for jury duty, if you ask me."

The cat's jury duty assignment has been set for Wednesday, March 23, 2011. On that date, the furry feline will be expected to show up, according to his appointed civic duty. Till that date, we can only wonder how the jury foreman will react upon learning that one of the potential jurors is of the four-footed variety.

Of course, if Sal Esposito the kitty is offered a sunny spot on the bench for the scheduled court case, he may simply sit quietly and observe, perhaps even more patiently and attentively than his human counterparts in the jury box.

Anna Esposito, the cat's owner, pondered the possibilities of her pet serving in the Suffolk County jury box for an upcoming case. "There has clearly been a mix-up," she suggested to reporters recently. "When they ask him, 'Guilty or not guilty,' what is he supposed to say, 'miaow'?"

Clearly, if the Esposito's cat actually does show up for his required jury duty in Massachusetts on March 23^rd, participants may only hope the feline is up in arms. Otherwise, it could soon be raining cats and dogs, quite literally, in Boston.