How to get out of jury duty?

[twopu]

I got the notice the other day, DAMN!!! I have to fill out the form if I would like to postpone or get out of it but I've never been succesful in the past. Any suggestions?

 

[klnyc]

I think you can only postponed X amount of time. I would just go and get it over with it.

In NYC you get pick every 4 years.

 

[BigAl3]

it's funny you mentioned this, i was going to post the same thing. i had to serve last week and it is VERY HARD to get out of it! i claimed financial hardship but you can only do that once you talk to the judge when you get called to a case in a courtroom (you can't be excused from the jury lobby for this). out of the 8 people who raised their hand to get out of it (due to financial hardship) only 4 got dismissed including myself. trust me, if you don't come prepared with good reason, the judge will have his way with words (boy did he ever) and you will be stuck and will have to serve . my specific case was going to last 2-3 days :down .



p.s. one juror said he was in between jobs at a dealership (about to start a new one) and hadn't been working for two weeks (married with two kids). so the judge asked him how much he made last year and he responded $80,000. well the judge basically said he can afford to serve a day or two since he made so much! :argue

 

[Setec Astronomy]

I second the just do it! answer. In the northern counties they have it so streamlined you frequently only have to go for one day, if at all, so it's almost impossible to get out of it (picture the assingnment judge asking "you don't have ONE DAY to spare for your civic duty?)



EDIT: imacarnut responded while I was typing...I was going to say, that it's easier to get out of a specific jury (like if it's expected to be a long trial) than to try and get out of the pool.

 

[cute02spec]

I got out of it back when I was in college by going in and randomly saying I was moving to California the next week... they dismissed me. However, that was the dinky muncipal court, so they really didn't care.



My dad has a medical waiver out of jury duty due to 3 back surgeries and an inability to sit for long periods of time. Basically he had his pain doctor write a letter, and anytime he gets a notice he goes to that court's office, and they relieve him. I dunno if this is an option for you, though...



Other than that, it's really hard to get out of.

 

[SpoiledMan]

Did anyone hand deliver the notice to you? Did you sign for it? Probably not. They can't prove you got it. If they can't prove you got it, all they can do is send another one. Don't ask how I know this.

 

[BigAl3]

Did anyone hand deliver the notice to you? Did you sign for it? Probably not. They can't prove you got it. If they can't prove you got it, all they can do is send another one. Don't ask how I know this.

true, and it's not a certified letter so they can't prove you got it (couple of people i know, just end up throwing them away). you know, mail gets lost all the time...

 

[CalgaryDetail]

*i dont mean any of this as a raical comment however im sure it will work*'



Walk in and say hes guilty caue hes black (im not racist however this will work) if they say hes not black tell them there all quilty



im sure theyll look at uyou and ask oyu to leave



its bad i know but itll get th ejob done

 

[SpoiledMan]

*i dont mean any of this as a raical comment however im sure it will work*'



Walk in and say hes guilty caue hes black (im not racist however this will work) if they say hes not black tell them there all quilty



im sure theyll look at uyou and ask oyu to leave



its bad i know but itll get th ejob done

This will work as well:



"If the police arrested him, he's guilty!"

 

[GearHead_1]

Doesn't seem there is a sense of responsibility in this thread. Our legal system without question needs help but what would it be if every citizen took the various approaches offered here, we wouldn't be able to put a jury together. I'm sorry guys I feel like this is really sad. Unless your sick or in the soup line, buck up, go help take care of some of the freedoms this country affords.



It's like the old saying goes: Freedom isn't free.

 

[CleanGSR]

I agree. To me if you're trying to get out of jury duty, then you don't support our judicial system. If you don't support our judicial system, then you don't appreciate the rights that we get as Americans. Move to Mexico and you won't have to serve Jury Duty.



I work in the judicial system as a Network Admin for the 4 circuit's courthouses in my area and work directly with a lot of judges and attorneys. I say this to tell you that I may be bias in my comments, so don't take anything personal.

 

[Setec Astronomy]

Just for the record, I was just answering the question rather than making a judgment (pardon the pun) about whether people should be trying to get out of it. I served 3 times in 12 years (and glad I did) then got called again 3 or 4 years later and said enough and asked to be excused, and for whatever reason haven't been called since.

 

[cute02spec]

Personally, I didn't want to serve because I was a full time college student, with a very high GPA and I didn't want to mess up my education by having to attend jury duty. I knew a girl that failed 2 classes because she had to serve on a jury, and she had to miss all of finals week. She ended up missing so much it just became too much to make up. I'm sorry, but when I am paying thousands of dollars for an education, I'm not going to go and listen to "boo hoo, I drove drunk, let me off easy" or "I got caught selling drugs, boo hoo" which were the typical cases from where I lived.



Seriously though... I don't think a lawyer would want me on a jury when it came to a drug or alcohol offense...

 

[SpoiledMan]

Just for the record, I was just answering the question rather than making a judgment (pardon the pun) about whether people should be trying to get out of it.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[Setec Astronomy]

Personally, I didn't want to serve because I was a full time college student, with a very high GPA and I didn't want to mess up my education by having to attend jury duty. I knew a girl that failed 2 classes because she had to serve on a jury, and she had to miss all of finals week. She ended up missing so much it just became too much to make up. I'm sorry, but when I am paying thousands of dollars for an education, I'm not going to go and listen to "boo hoo, I drove drunk, let me off easy" or "I got caught selling drugs, boo hoo" which were the typical cases from where I lived.

Don't full-time students have an exemption? Failing finals seems like it would be a lot better excuse than a "moving to CA" lie, and how would you know what the typical cases were if you never went?

 

[CleanGSR]

I don't mean to sound like I'm passing judgment with my post.....that was seriously not my intention. I'm just a big supporter of the judicial system and should proof read my posts for "harshness" sometimes, before clicking submit. I do know that some people have situations where it's too difficult to serve, but can't get out of it due to the nature of the reason. For example, a stay at home mom with 3-4 kids who's husband works all day shouldn't have to serve, but that probably wouldn't be a good enough reason. Same with the college student deal. I do think that if it's not going to be a huge negative impact on your life then people should stick through it.

 

[BigAl3]

i wouldn't mine serving as it seems interesting, but since i don't get paid by my employer... it hurts the wallet .

 

[cute02spec]

Don't full-time students have an exemption? Failing finals seems like it would be a lot better excuse than a "moving to CA" lie, and how would you know what the typical cases were if you never went?

No exemptions for students, at least not in Wyoming. And I knew what the cases were because I read the municipal court blotters in the town's newspaper, and most of them were just alcohol offenses or running stop sign tickets.

 

[wlhump]

Don't "get out of it", serve on a jury. Its a fascinating experience, and provide invaluable insight into the nature of our legal system and your fellow jury members.



I served on an assault with a deadly weapon charge case. I was 'elected' foreman of the jury. (Accept this if you can, you can then have a minor amount of control of your time in the jury room).



In the case, the assailant beat the victim with a pool cue to the point that it crushed a gold band on her hand (between the cue and her head) almost completely severing her finger! He then stabbed her multiple times but was frightened off by her son coming in. She was present in the courtroom to point out in person the assailant. Very convincingly. Surprisingly, the defense presented almost no case, no alibi, nothing to give us reason to find him not guilty. So, we found him guilty in about 1/2 an hour.



Now it gets interesting. Even after agreeing that he tried to kill the woman, several of the jury members had a real difficulty in sentencing him to any time in jail! They wanted probation. After all, jail is harsh! This part stumped several of us :nixweiss who wanted the max! After all, he TRIED TO KILL HER and even TOLD HER SO! It took a little time, but we eventually sentenced him to ~15 years on 2 counts. Do I feel bad? NO, this was a bad guy who probably needed more time.



The interesting points came after the trial when we got a chance to meet with the prosecuters. We asked, "Why not attempted murder?" Well, in TX, the penalty for assault w/deadly weapon and attempted murder are the same, but assault is much easer to prove. Also, this was not the first time that this guy had done this! But that fact was not admissible in this case. (But wouldn't you want to know this?) Also, after spending 2 days in the court room, we (jury) all talked that both sides left obvious questions on the table.



All in all, a very interesting examination of the system and people and NOTHING LIKE TV justice.

Get on a jury. IF you have a strong sense of right and wrong, you must. I don't want to be mean, but there are a lot of people out there who just cannot seem to punish others for their actions even when they fully believe they committed a crime.

Only you can prevent this

 

[Setec Astronomy]

No exemptions for students, at least not in Wyoming. And I knew what the cases were because I read the municipal court blotters in the town's newspaper, and most of them were just alcohol offenses or running stop sign tickets.

Sorry, by your address I thought you were in NJ.