Disabled veteran says he had to sit in soiled clothing in court

CLAY COUNTY, Fla. — A disabled veteran contacted the “Ask Anthony” team after experiencing what he calls a traumatic and humiliating experience at the Clay County Courthouse on March 27.  

Because of the nature of this story, the man asked not to be identified. 

“I decided to contact you because I want this to be brought to the general public because I don’t want this to happen again to someone else.”

An embarrassing situation for this disabled veteran, however, he feels his story needs to be told.

“It was quite horrifying and humiliating.”

The man says he requested to use the restroom after the judge had taken the bench around eight that morning for jury duty. But, he says, a clerk in the Clay County courtroom wouldn’t allow him to leave.

“I told the lady this was an emergency that I needed to go to the restroom and she told me we would not disrespect the judge and I needed to sit back down.”

The veteran says he suffers from IBS, known as Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and it’s not something he can control. Out of embarrassment, he did not reveal that information to the clerk.

“She told me you need to sit back down and this was spoken in a loud manner in front of the other 200 potential jurors. Unfortunately, I could not hold it any longer.”

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The man says he defecated on himself and had to sit in his soiled clothing for hours until the court took an hour break for lunch. He went to a nearby fast-food restaurant to clean himself up. 

“I was pretty mortified with myself and embarrassed that I was there in my soiled clothes.”

We reached out to the Clay County Clerk of Court’s office and received a statement:

“During jury selection citizens may leave the courtroom to use the restroom before and after the judge is on the bench and during lunch breaks. It is against general courtroom protocol for anyone to leave during the selection process.  Exceptions can and have been made, however, when citizens indicate a medical issue or other emergency.  That was not the case during the incident in question.  At no point was a clerk, bailiff, attorney, or judge notified that there was a serious issue involving this juror. Accommodations would have been provided if we were alerted.”

The disabled veteran says he wanted to share his story in hopes the court will consider situations like his, where someone may be uncomfortable sharing they have a medical condition. 

“If I can prevent this from happening to one other person, whether it be a fellow veteran or another loyal citizen that is doing their civic duty for jury duty, then it’s worth me coming forward.”

What should you do if you’re in this situation?  

We reached out to local attorney Tad Delegal for advice. He says while this is an unfortunate situation for everyone, legally, you must mention you have a medical condition in order to receive accommodations.