A Jefferson County mother is speaking out after she was forced to report for jury duty while breastfeeding her three-month-old baby girl.
Kandace Brown, of Morris, received the summons in December. She attempted to call to be excused and filled out a form but never heard back.
"You hear the stories of you must show up for jury duty or you'll get arrested," Brown told 1819 News. "But the last thing I wanted was to take my three-month-old infant with me, but I literally had no choice because she will not take a bottle. She cannot eat in any way but through me."
Brown signed in and asked for a place to feed her baby. From there, Brown said things got worse.
"The lady there told me to let her know when she needs to eat and I said, 'Well, she needs to now because we just had a long drive," Brown explained. "So, she gives me directions but I swear she was rude to me the entire time."
"She gave me directions to the room, but I don't even think she gave me the correct ones," she continued. "I wandered around that courthouse for like 10 minutes and couldn't find it."
When she finally found the room, Brown said she was disgusted. She said there were no accommodations for a baby, and the room was filthy.
"No changing table, nothing like that," she remembered. "It's just a dirty room with chairs. There's actually a whiteboard on the wall, and another mother had written on there, 'I can't believe the state of Alabama makes me be here when I need to pump for my baby. This room is filthy."
Brown finished feeding her baby and returned to the clerk. While in the excusal process, Brown said one Jefferson County Judge mentioned that she could hear children.
"She thanked everyone for being there and she said, 'I can't see them, but I hear their children here today. Any mother that has brought a child with them needs to make accommodations for their child to come and picked up. I would hate for DHR to be involved," Brown said of Jefferson County Circuit Judge Shanta Owens.
"She said, 'I've been served, I've been a juror, I'm a mom, too, and I've had to make arrangements for my child," Brown continued to say of Owens.
"So, now we're sitting there sweating," Brown said. "A nervous wreck, like I, she needs to eat again, I don't want to go back to that room, like, I need to change her diaper, they're threatening DHR. "It was just a very uncomfortable situation to put mothers like I literally did not have a choice, and I was stuck there."
After three hours, Brown was dismissed for the day but told she would be called back soon. She said she was told that if she had to come back, she could not bring her baby.
"And I said, 'But I can't; she can't eat without me.' And she said, 'Well, you can just pump then,' and I said, 'No, ma'am, I cannot. She will not take a bottle, I can't just pump.' And she said, 'I'm just telling you, you're going to get called again," Brown added.
Brown posted about her experience on social media, and she was instantly flooded by messages from other mothers who had similar experiences. The post also got the attention of State Auditor Andrew Sorrell, a former state representative.
Sorrell said that in 2021, his wife brought up the issue, and he introduced a bill. The bill made it to the committee, where it died after members were unable to confirm if an issue had ever arisen for a nursing mom, and it was deemed unnecessary.
Fast forward four years, and Sorrell heard Brown's story.
"What we have here is the government trying to tell mothers how they should feed their children," he said. "That's a problem."
State Rep. Susan DuBose (R-Hoover), known for championing bills for families and children, told 1819 News Brown's story is compelling, and she wants to look into how she can help protect breastfeeding moms.
Brown said she is thankful for the support and hopes something can be done so moms who are exclusively breastfeeding never have to experience what she experienced.
"For others to hear this and consider it, it was totally the Lord's path for this," Brown said. "I want legislation passed. I want this fixed. I don't want another mother to go through this."
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email erica.thomas@1819news.com.
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