Jury Duty: A Fragrant Dilemma

I was called into jury duty, and the first day, sitting in the large room where the prospective jurors gathered, was no problem, as it was only about one-quarter full, and everyone spaced themselves out around the room. I filled out my 20-page questionnaire and mentioned my asthma—that strong smells, such as perfume, are one of my triggers—when asked if I had any problems with serving.

The trial selection and trigger

The next week, I was called in for the actual selection for the trial, and the room was considerably fuller than it had been the previous week. I sat down near the back, and within 2 minutes, someone sat in front of me with a strong perfume pouring out into the air. I could feel my lungs starting to tighten, and I quickly moved to the very back of the room, near the entrance, but the room was quickly filling with people and other strong perfume scents.

I have cough-variant asthma, and as my lungs filled with mucus, my very loud "seal bark" cough brought a clerk to my side. She asked if I was sick, and when I told her no, that the perfumes were aggravating my asthma, she let me sit outside. Unfortunately, the damage was done, and even though I took multiple doses of Albuterol that helped, I was still coughing.

Excused from service

The clerk asked if I needed to be excused, and I said that I would not be able to stop coughing if I were in a room with strong fragrances. She spoke with the judge, and they excused me from jury duty, as they stated they would not be able to predict whether someone in the courtroom was wearing strong perfume or fragrances from body sprays.

I was quite disappointed, as I realized that I would not be able to serve in that trial and most likely in future requests. Nowhere in any of the literature I received did it recommend avoiding the use of perfume or heavily fragranced body sprays. My experience is not unique, and some effort should be made to keep the air breathable for everyone in the courtroom.

Navigating asthma fragrance triggers in public

In the past, I have also had to leave large assemblies at conferences. My friends and family know about my sensitivity, and when we meet or travel in a car together, they avoid using products with strong fragrances.