In the United States, often citizens are asked to report for service as a juror in legal proceedings. This is known as being called for jury duty. An important civic duty, many critics have often referred to as a manner of servitude which can be compared to mandatory conscription. If a person is called for jury duty, then it is his duty to attend the legal proceedings, as not doing so can lead to strict penalty. Depending on the jury selection process, a prospective juror may be asked to serve on a jury or be dismissed from the proceedings. If you have been called for jury duty, then you would be expected to respond to the call. But if the process is inconvenient to you, then you may want to know the different exemptions to jury duty. There are a few methods that can be used in order to get out of duty as a juror.
Getting out of Jury Duty
According to the laws of the state, there are some important exceptions, under which you can ignore the call for jury duty. While these exceptions generally vary from state to state, the main ones are given below.
- You can get out of jury duty in case you have moved away from the country or state in which you were supposed to serve on the jury.
- In case you are the primary person on whom a child under six or an elderly parent is dependent, then you can be excused from jury duty.
- Another exception to the jury duty call is if you are a member of the armed force, who is currently on active duty.
- A student can refuse jury duty, provided he or she can inform the court that he has academic commitments and jury duty would affect his academics negatively.
- A person with severe health issues and suffering from debilitating medical illness can also be asked to be excused from jury duty.
- Senior citizens above the age of 70 are excused from a call for jury duty.
- If you are not proficient in English and do not speak or understand the language, then you can get out of jury duty.
- Any citizen who is convicted of a crime in the past seven years or has been a defendant in a case of felony is not supposed to be on jury duty. If you are on probation, serving jail time, or on parole, then again you are dismissed from jury duty
There are other reasons that you can provide the court with, in case you want to learn to get out of jury duty. One of the most effective ones is to inform the court that you will be unable to serve on the jury due to financial problems. You will have to provide the court with documents of proof of employment and salary slips. You may also be needed to get a letter from your employer stating why it would be difficult for you to take leave from work. In this letter, your employer will need to mention your specific job duties. Another way to get out jury duty is to ask for a change of date. Since the first stage of jury selection process is normally computerized, when you receive your notice, you can ask for a change of date. You will be expected to give a reason for why you need the change of date though. Another legal way that you can adopt if you want to learn how to get of jury duty is to the right of a jury to veto. If on the jury, you will be asked to swear that you will reach a verdict on the court case based on the evidence and testimony presented in court. If you refuse to swear to this on the basis that the jury can reach a verdict as they see fit, then this is known as jury nullification and you may be excused from jury duty.
Whatever your reason for not serving jury duty, you need to understand that as a citizen of the country it is your duty to answer a call for jury duty. Failure to do so can result in severe penalty which may include a fine, withdrawal of driver's license, and even an arrest. Try and explain your circumstances to the court in order to get out of jury duty, but in case the reason seems unacceptable, participate in the trial in all fairness.
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