Kandace Brown is an Alabama mother of four with an exclusively breastfed infant. When she received a jury summons in December 2024, she tried to postpone her civic duty but allegedly received pushback from Jefferson County courts.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Breastfeeding women in Alabama will be excused from jury duty, the state’s highest court ordered unanimously on Friday, in response to public outcry from a mother who said that she was threatened with child protective services for bringing her nursing infant into court.

After a mother of a breastfed child claimed a judge threatened her with DHR, lawmakers said they would file bills to address the situation.

It’s a challenge countless breastfeeding moms face, and it’s why Alabama’s new policy, which excuses nursing mothers from jury duty, is so significant. This ruling not only alleviates a huge burden for breastfeeding moms but also represents progress in normalizing the realities of women’s lives within our legal and societal systems.

Alabama mothers react to supreme court ruling excusing breastfeeding mothers from jury duty

Sorrell said Alabama currently has no law exempting nursing mothers from jury duty. Alabama House Representative Susan Dubose said after hearing Brown’s story she plans to file a bill regarding this at the 2025 Legislative Session.

Michael and Kristine Barnett adopted Natalia Grace and later successfully petitioned a court to legally re-age her, claiming she was really an adult.

Only days after a mom was threatened with DHR for bringing her infant to the Jefferson County Courthouse, the Alabama Supreme Court issued an administrative order declaring a nursing mother should be excused from jury duty.