Cat gets summoned for jury duty, owners appeal to have him disqualified because "Sal can't speak English", but the request is hilariously denied: '[They got] a letter from the vet stating he was a cat'

We always say that cats rule our houses with an iron paw, but we don't actually think that they should be judges in a court.

Listen, we think that cats are amazing. We think that they are capable, smart, and should not be underestimated. They may look tiny and small, but inside those fluffy little heads of theirs lie thoughts of chaos and crime. All cats are criminals. And their crimes vary from stealing food off our plates right under our noses, with no regard for the consequences, and while maintaining eye contact with us the whole time, all the way to breaking into banks and sending the police on chases.

It may be an amusing thought- to imagine a cat sitting in the courtroom, on jury duty, deciding whether we are guilty of some crime or not, but in reality, we know that our cats would sell us out for a can of tuna and not even think about it. Of course, that is not the reason that this cat was removed from the jury duty that it was summoned for. Sal was removed because… well, Sal is a cat. And in the words of his owner, "When they ask him guilty or not guilty? What's he supposed to say - meow?"

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via @CatMacroz
This story may sound like a joke or a meme, but it is not. We thought the same thing when we first saw it, but it is in our nature to look it up, and when we did… we were very pleasantly surprised. According to CBS News, this actually happened in Boston, on January 7th, 2010. Sal's owners suspected that he got the summons for jury duty because they had listed him under “pets” on the last city census form. "Sal is a member of the family so I listed him on the last census form under pets, but there has clearly been a mix-up," Mrs. Esposito said to TWA, "When they ask him guilty or not guilty? What's he supposed to say - meow?"
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via @CatMacroz
Guy, one of Sal's owners, was shocked by the summons letter. "I said, 'Sal, what's this?' I was shocked," Mr. Esposito said. "He likes to sit on my knee and watch crime shows with me but even so he's still under-qualified for jury duty if you ask me." Considering her lack of options, Anna, Sal's second owner, filed for Sal's disqualification from jury duty, but she could not list the usual reasons. Sal wasn't too old, wasn't ill or a convicted felion. He's a cat, so she chose the only one of the 10 statutory disqualifications that she could: "She chose the most obvious reason - Sal can't speak English."
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via @CatMacroz
You would think that would be enough, but it was not. The jury commissioner denied the request. Back when the story first aired, Anna had gotten a letter from Sal's vet, stating that he's a cat, thinking that would end the debacle. At first, it was reported that the letter was not enough and that Sal was still under orders to appear in court March 23rd, 2010. But eventually, a correction was issued, stating that the letter from the vet was, in fact, enough to get Sal off jury duty. Too bad, really. It would have been hissterical has he been made to go.
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via Unsplash / Guillermo Olivas - guill1967

Picture of a tabby cat stretching.
Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.
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via @tzar_the_one
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via @CatMacroz
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via @snowanaya1
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via @CatMacroz
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via Unsplash / Lucie Hošová - marjorylucabaxter

Picture of a tabby cat.
Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.
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via @KuroNekoArtist
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via @nak1yah
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via @cattobingu
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via @CatMacroz
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via Unsplash / Amelia Fujii - teddyandfreddycats

Picture of a tabby cat.
Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.
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via @hifurrend
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via @professorpixie
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via Unsplash / Amelia Fujii - teddyandfreddycats

Picture of a tabby cat.
Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.
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via @jennyloe
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via @SandyofCthulhu