How to Get Out of Jury Duty

Guide Note

If you recently received a notice for jury duty in the mail, you may have groaned, wondering how you'd fit the service into your busy schedule. Believe it or not, there are several valid methods that can help you postpone your jury service or help you avoid being assigned to a lengthy trial.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• What Not to Do
• Automatic Disqualifications
• Hardship Situations
• Jury Nullification
• Delay
• Conclusion
• References

• by Darcy Logan

Introduction

• While it is your civic duty, there are times when it may be inconvenient to serve on a jury. Read on to learn about situations and careers that usually preclude jury service, as well as ways to delay your service until a more convenient time.

What Not to Do

• Although it might be tempting, failing to show up may be the worst thing you can do when facing jury duty. The consequences for failing to show up for jury duty is different in each state but can result in a suspended driver's license, fines and even criminal charges.¹ And if you lie about your ability to serve, you could face a contempt of court charge.² Jury duty is better than jail.

Automatic Disqualifications

• While disqualifying situations will vary from state to state, and from court to court, the following individuals typically do not have to serve jury duty:
  

  Naturally, the incarcerated will not be called upon to serve jury duty. (Creative Commons photo by Angelo Leung)

1. You have moved out of the county or state where you were supposed to serve.³
2. You are the primary caregiver of an elderly parent or a child under six.⁴
3. You are a member of the armed forces on active duty.⁵
4. You have a debilitating medical illness.⁶
5. You are a student.⁷
6. You are over 70 years old.⁸
7. You don't speak or understand English.⁹
8. You are in jail or prison, have been convicted of a felony during the past seven years or are a defendant in a felony case.⁹
9. You have a felony record or are on probation or parole.¹⁰

• Please be aware that you might be required to provide the court with documentation for your situation.¹⁰

Hardship Situations

• Even if you do not qualify for an automatic disqualification, your situation may still allow you to miss jury duty.

1. Check how long your employer pays for jury service. If it's only for a few days, you may be able to prove a financial hardship by showing that serving for a long period of time would mean an unsurvivable loss of income.¹¹
2. If you own your own business, you can often get out of jury duty if you can prove that you would lose money or business because you were not able to work during jury duty.⁶
3. Finally, if you do not have a reliable method of transportation or access to public transportation, you might be able to get excused from jury duty.⁸

Jury Nullification

(CC photo by Jesse Michael Nix)

• Jury nullification occurs when a jury decides a defendant is "not guilty" because they feel the law is not valid, not because the defendant is innocent.

1. For example, if you were arrested for playing dominoes on a Sunday afternoon in Alabama (where this is illegal¹²), the jury could decide to consider you "not guilty" because it felt the law was not valid.
2. The tactic has historically only been applied in rulings with greater social or political importance, but is still technically part of the legal system.²
3. If you legitimately feel you cannot apply the law of the land to the case being tried, you should inform the court immediately.

Delay Your Jury Duty

• Is your desire to get out of jury duty really just a need to serve at a better time? Delaying jury duty is usually an option.⁹

1. Contact the court system that sent your summons and ask about getting a delay.
2. If you truly cannot serve in the immediate future:
   • Try to delay jury duty until December.⁶ The December holidays increase the chance that any trials will be delayed or moved, lowering your chances of being called in.¹³
   • August is another good month, since many people tend to take their vacations then.¹⁴

Conclusion

• Of course, when everyone tries to get out of jury duty, the legal system falls apart—courts cannot try cases without juries. So, when your situation is more amenable to serving, do your civic duty.

References for How to Get Out of Jury Duty

1. ↑ Washington Post: D.C. Arrests Residents For Missing Jury Service (July 14, 2008)
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Mental Floss Blog: How To Get Out of Jury Duty
3. ↑ Insidious Truth: Jury Duty (June 4, 2008)
4. ↑ Georgia Business and Family Law Blog: How Not to Get Out of Jury Duty (July 10, 2007)
5. ↑ U.S. Courts: Juror Qualifications, Exemptions and Excuses
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2} Wicked How-To's: How To Get Out Of Jury Duty: My Story, How I Did It.  
7. ↑ Alestlive.com: Get Out of Jury Duty Free (September 30, 2004)
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} Fullduplex.org: How To Get Out of Jury Duty
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1 9.2} State of Connecticut Judicial Branch: Frequently Asked Questions about Jury Duty
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} Boundary County District Court: Jury Duty
11. ↑ San Joaquin County Superior Court: What if being on a jury would be a financial hardship?
12. ↑ LawGuru: United States Weird Laws
13. ↑ WikiHow: How to Get Out of Jury Duty
14. ↑ The New Yorker: The Waiting Room: August (August 30, 2004)