Ever try to get out of Jury Duty service? Remember when you could produce a doctor's note which suggested that the mere act of showing up for Jury Duty would put your health in jeopardy, a statement from your employer documenting the hardship it would bring upon the workplace because the company just could not function without you, or your testimony that you were a homemaker with a family and had no one to care for your children. All of these at one time were valid reasons to be excused from jury duty.
Doctors, lawyers and even judges could get out of Jury Duty just because of the nature of their profession. Well no more. I guess there is a shortage of willing jurors and the process to secure warm bodies able to walk under their own power has become exhaustive.
I did a little bit of research and found that there are valid reasons for being excused from jury duty and they vary from state to state. For example in California the law and court policy establish the legal grounds for excuse from jury duty. Each request for excuse is reviewed on an individual basis by the Jury Commissioner or his or her staff based on the law and court policy. In other states I researched there are some similarities in what is acceptable and varying degrees of other valid excuses such as:
- You cannot speak or understand English.
- You are 70 years old or older and do not want to serve.
- You already spent a day serving jury duty in state court during the three previous years OR are scheduled to serve in the near future.
- You are not a citizen of the United States.
- You have been convicted of a felony during the past seven years OR you are a defendant in a felony case now.
- You are in jail or prison.
- You are a State Senator or Representative and the legislature is in session.
- You are a judge of the Superior Court, Appellate Court or Supreme Court, you are a judge of probate or you are a federal court judge.
- Have a physical or mental disability that would prevent him/her from serving. The prospective juror is required to provide a doctor's note explaining the disability. If the prospective juror does not have a doctor, a professional caregiver can provide a sworn statement explaining the disability instead.
- Will be temporarily away from the court's jurisdiction at the time for which the juror is summoned.
- Active military duty.
I recall the story of a man who when asked if he could be impartial during the proceedings and deliberations, replied "Yes, he's guilty". He was excused.
Then there's the guy who once selected to sit on a jury, arrived at the courthouse later and later each day, was always the last one to return from the lunch break, holding up the trial proceedings until the judge summoned him into his chambers for a brief chat. He was clearly shaken when he emerged from the judge's chambers and from that day on for the duration of the trial, he was the first jury person to arrive at the courthouse. I guess they made him an offer he could not refuse.
For decades people have come up with some clever ways to get out of jury duty but this latest attempt had me rolling in laughter (of course the personal delivery of the story adds to the genius).
So as it was told to me, during the jury selection, a woman when asked by the judge to give her name, she said "No". The judge replied "Pardon me, what did you say"? And the woman again replied "No". She was excused.
