Commute to Framingham District Court from Davis

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

If you ever get a summmons for Jury Duty in Framingham district court, try to get switched to another court. Or if that doesn't work tell the judge that driving to in time for court will be difficult for a multiday trial. The drive approaches 75 minutes each way, and the timing of the commuter rail doesn't really work out.

The judges and court officers are all super nice, though!

(I have spent entirely too much time in the last week driving to and from Framingham. All done now.)

Comments

[lyonesse.livejournal.com]

*nods vigorously* last time i had to do this it was 75 minutes out, 125 minutes back (i was working so i have my billing records) b/c of an accident on 90. google maps claims 36 minutes!!

[koshmom.livejournal.com]

Wow! I didn't realize that Middlesex County, MA was so big!

[ron_newman]

In the northwest direction, Middlesex County goes even further out than Framingham. The westernmost town is Ashby, just north of Fitchburg.

And in the southwest direction, Hopkinton (26.2 miles from Boston) is also part of Middlesex.

[koshmom.livejournal.com]

Yeah! I saw a map and was astonished. How do people without cars get to their jury duty?

[miraclaire.livejournal.com]

You borrow a car. My husband had Jury duty somewhere far away (can't remember where) and when he tried to get it moved they were totally unwilling. Luckily, we were staying with my parents for a couple of months while we did work on the house we had just bought, and they have a car that they don't use during the week (they both work downtown and take the T) so he just used that, but I guess otherwise he would have had to rent a car?

ETA: And then a few weeks later, he got summoned for federal grand jury duty... which was downtown, at least. Much as both of us would LOVE to serve on a jury at some point, this fall, when we were doing major renovations (husband was deleading our new house himself) and my father-in-law started hospice care, died, and had a funeral and two memorial services, which meant we were traveling every two weeks from September through December, meant that it was really, really bad timing, other than the bit about being able to borrow my parents' car.

[enveri.livejournal.com]

They ask to be relocated to a closer court. I had jury duty last month in Framingham, and one of the women that was on the jury with me was called into Boston. She didn't have a car, so she was relocated to Framingham (she was local).

My trip out and back wasn't terrible, but my service was a single day. I was more annoyed at my GPS taking me the long (scenic) route.

[pekmez.livejournal.com]

Huh? But Boston isn't in Middlesex County.

[enveri.livejournal.com]

Maybe she had it wrong? I don't know...? That's what she said.

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

I've never had any trouble getting mine moved.

[siderea]

Yeah, I just get it moved. Haven't had a problem with that.

[ron_newman]

Does it work to bike to Back Bay or Yawkey station, take your bike on the train to Framingham, then bike to the courthouse? (You are allowed to take a bike on the commuter train in the 'reverse-commute' direction.)

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

That might work.

The train arrives at 8:30 (if it's on time). My fear was if the train is late getting to the courthouse on time on foot.

[somervillesnow.livejournal.com]

I'm just been summoned to court in Lowell. I guess is should "count my blessings"?

[grapefruiteater.livejournal.com]

That's so much closer to Somerville than Framingham is. Pro tip: You might find it easier and faster to get to downtown Lowell, particularly the side where the courthouse is, from 93. Many people think the only way to go to Lowell is Route 3 and the Lowell Connector, but that's not true. Take 93 to 133 West, and it'll dump you out basically AT the courthouse (it's also a nice drive!). There's a lot of parking there and some good places to walk to for lunch. If you don't drive, the commuter rail from North Station or West Medford is also easy.

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

When I was, I took the commuter rail (I cn't drive) which was walking distance from the courthouse. At least it was a reverse commute.

[paradoox.livejournal.com]

Except the Framingham court really is nicer than the Lowell court. When I was living in Waltham, I always tried to go to Framingham. Now that I am in Newton, it is a no-brainer to go to Framingham.

[lizzielizzie.livejournal.com]

Once the new Lowell courthouse is done (in a year or three), it will be a lot nicer! The Hurd St courthouse is a bit yucky.

[blacktigr.livejournal.com]

I took the train from North Station. It wasn't too bad, and there's a lovely little breakfast place there that caters to people coming from the court. Stick to the main roads. My GPS took me through someone's apartment complex and wasted 10 minutes.

[miraclaire.livejournal.com]

Good to know! (and thanks for the SAHP & Jury duty post to SomervilleMoms, too -- that was also useful information to know!)

[ron_newman]

What is SAHP?

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

Stay at home parent.

[closetalker11.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I had to do jury duty in Framingham, explained that I had no car and that the commuter rail would take almost 2 hours each way plus I'd have to get there super early, and they were not moved. Luckily I borrowed a car and only had single-day service. I legit don't know what I would have done otherwise.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

I got called to Jury duty in Lawrence, MA (I have no car, no license, and the commuter rail doesn't go anywhere near their courthouse), and it was hard to get it switched. I hand-wrote my plea in a shaky hand, making myself look as unstable as possible. They did switch me to Cambridge, and I went (didn't get picked though).

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

I just phoned and said, "I can't drive. Can you move my jury duty to an accessible location?" The person I talked to on the phone was very nice and tried to help me right away. Admittedly, the first thing she tried was moving it to Ayer which was listed as wheelchair accessible...but she switched me to Cambridge 5 minutes later once she understood I could walk but not drive.

[closetalker11.livejournal.com]

Ah! Obviously, I got the wrong person on the phone. Should this come up again, I'll have to try harder.

[grapefruiteater.livejournal.com]

The courthouse in Ayer is within spitting distance of the commuter rail, for future reference. It's the Fitchburg line, which you can catch at Porter Square.

[ron_newman]

But the first outbound train to Ayer arrives at 9:50 am. I think that's too late for jury duty.

[firstfrost.livejournal.com]

Yeah, when harrock had jury duty in Ayer, I was poking around with what public transportation would get there. The answer, according to Google Maps, was "take the commuter rail out the night before, and wait". :)

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

That's good to know! Thanks.

[ron_newman]

I thought we could only get called to serve in our own county? Lawrence is in Essex county, and we're in Middlesex. This surprises me.

The three times I've served so far, I was always assigned to Cambridge. Unfortunately that is now closed, so I somewhat dread the next summons (which I'm way overdue for).

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

Dunno. This was more than 10 years ago, so maybe something has changed. I was quite unhappy until they changed mine, though!

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

Yeah, since the Sullivan Building in Lechmere has serious problems, they moved the Middlesex Superior Court to Woburn, and the Cambridge District Court to Medford. Neither is particularly convenient by public transit.

The jail and the Registry of Deeds are still in Lechmere.

[siderea]

What is wrong with the Sullivan Building, anyway? I never heard.

[ron_newman]

This is probably as good a place to start as any. Or this.

[lizzielizzie.livejournal.com]

How often have you gotten a summons? I finally got my very first one at the end of last year, and I have been registered to vote in MA since I was 22 or so. (I'm 40-ish now.) Granted, I have bounced around a bit, so maybe that is why?

FWIW, my last summons was for Woburn.

[ron_newman]

Three times. (I said that in the comment you replied to ;-)

[lizzielizzie.livejournal.com]

Ugh. Reading is hard! Must be bedtime. :-D