How do I get out of jury duty?

[bhanson]

This will not work. They will ask you to skip your finals for jury duty.

That's completely ridiculous if true.

 

[DeviousTrap]

Every time I've been summoned for jury duty I had the option to postpone it. Hell, I just got a notice 2 weeks ago and I could pick any date I wanted.

 

[Wag]

I can't. We already had to close up for a month earlier in the year because of the damn Mississippi river. That was bad, closing up in December on top of that will do real harm to the business. I'll suffer whatever the penalty is before I close again. I do nearly a third of the entire years revenue in December. I've ordered hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of inventory in preparation for December. Inventory which has to be payed for after the holiday season. I simply can't be closed in December.

You're an American citizen, you have to serve Jury duty. Unless you're disabled in some way or you are in the position as someone as like a sole care-giver, you must serve. No excuse.

 

[xanis]

Like a few other people said, postpone it.

 

[Anubis]

"Jury Duty notice? What Jury Duty notice?"

worked for me for 12 years so far and 4 notices

 

[SlitheryDee]

You're an American citizen, you have to serve Jury duty. Unless you're disabled in some way or you are in the position as someone as like a sole care-giver, you must serve. No excuse.

I think the continuation of a business that has been in the area for 46 years is excuse enough. If the law doesn't agree, then eff the law. I'm not doing it.

 

[Anubis]

I think the continuation of a business that has been in the area for 46 years is excuse enough. If the law doesn't agree, then eff the law. I'm not doing it.

you can get out of it for the reason that your business will suffer/fail if you aren't there. My mom got out of it for a similar reason of her being the only 1 of 2 employees in a business and the ONLY one that could make it run

or tell them you will be out of the country

 

[IronWing]

Learn to play gamelan music and bring one with you when you report.

 

[Subyman]

Just tell them you hate black people and you will be out of the door in no time. Any racist views will be purged.

 

[coreyb]

always just thrown it out and pretended I never even saw the damn thing.

 

[IronWing]

Paint each of your fingers a different color. If asked, explain that it wards off ponies.

 

[Gooberlx2]

This is right in the middle of the holiday season and I run a retail business that can't operate without me. Having to close up in december could put me out of business if it drags on more than a day, which I hear it almost certainly will. Is there any easy way I can get out of it?

Explain exactly this to the clerk/contact listed on your notice. Excessive financial hardship is a valid excuse. Supporting evidence will help.

They'll probably at least recycle your number in to the pool for after the holiday season. Definitely don't wait until the day of (assuming your number is called) and try to explain it to the judge.

 

[Pardus]

Just tell them you hate black people and you will be out of the door in no time. Any racist views will be purged.

Wow, that is a bit much. If the Lawyers/Judge are black, African American , they may have some not so nice words to say to you.

Simply shred the notice. People actually believe they will be subject to legal action/arrested if they don't go. It's funny, the state/county/city mails out a post card and there is no way anyone can prove you received it.

You only get paid if they pick you, in my case, i wasted 8 hours and a day pay and got paid zero.

No response is the best response.

If you do go and the lawyers ask you questions, reply with "I cannot be fair and impartial." as i did and was sent home.

 

[xeemzor]

Why do people complain about getting off jury duty so much? It's like the easiest thing ever.

Just go and tell them you won't be an unbiased juror and that if the person is on trial clearly they are guilty, etc. They won't allow someone with preconceived notions on a jury. If you want to be a dick about it you can rant about jury nullification and how you hold more power than the judge.

Or you could man up and and do the right thing.

 

[FeuerFrei]

Check-in/register at the last moment, as everyone is called into the selection room. They could easily have enough candidates on hand by that time, and will just let you go. Worked for me twice.

One time I even had a doctor's note excusing me, but was turned down before I showed it.

 

[BoomerD]

First of all, you should serve your jury duty...BUT, you can USUALLY ask for an extension and get it...once.
Yes, you can ignore it and hope the judge doesn't get pissed off about it...some do.

 

[KLin]

My county allows you to request a postponement online. Look into it.

 

[SlitheryDee]

Why do people complain about getting off jury duty so much? It's like the easiest thing ever.

Just go and tell them you won't be an unbiased juror and that if the person is on trial clearly they are guilty, etc. They won't allow someone with preconceived notions on a jury. If you want to be a dick about it you can rant about jury nullification and how you hold more power than the judge.

Or you could man up and and do the right thing.

That might work if you're some random dude the judge has never seen. everyone knows everyone here. If I go ranting and raving and acting crazy it won't just be forgotten. It could even have a negative impact on the business. Honestly I don't even want to take the one day off it would take to go and do all this explaining. In December that could mean losing as much as 10k in revenue.

 

[xeemzor]

That might work if you're some random dude the judge has never seen. everyone knows everyone here. If I go ranting and raving and acting crazy it won't just be forgotten. It could even have a negative impact on the business. Honestly I don't even want to take the one day off it would take to go and do all this explaining. In December that could mean losing as much as 10k in revenue.

You don't have to act crazy. Just say you can't be an impartial juror because of any rational reason. If you get rescheduled for another selection pool continue with your argument that you can not be fair in judgement. No one is going to think poorly of you for it.

As for the lost day, there isn't much you can do about it. Since it's quite a ways away you can plan for it now and bring work with you to the courthouse.

 

[IronWing]

Tell the judge that you are incontinent and can't afford diapers.

 

[zinfamous]

Being able to think usually works. Seriously they hate that.

true, actually.

during selection process (most likely won't even make it that far), just tell them you have a PhD in--and they will stop you there and tell you to go home.

Lawyers hate smart people on the jury.

 

[zinfamous]

That's completely ridiculous if true.

well, you're notified of Jury Duty at least one month in advance, iirc.

talk to prof, try to schedule the exam the day before.

 

[Leros]

That's completely ridiculous if true.

Its not. I've been excused from jury duty twice for being a student. They won't make you miss your classes. All I had to do was send them a letter with some form of enrollment (I printed off my class schedule from the university website).

 

[Via]

Tell them you can spot a guilty guy just by looking at him.

Seriously, though, I just got the summons. Here you have a year to serve your jury duty, so I called and got it deferred to next August.

 

[AMCRambler]

Act like you're really eager to dispense justice. Tell them you really want to lay down the law.