Leaving jury duty: what excuse is acceptable?
Everybody hates getting that notice in the mail. The first question that goes through your mind is how do I get out of this? Well, there are excuses that will allow you to leave this service. Do you really want to miss work and have to sit around waiting to see if they’ll put you on that jury, all those questions go through your mind, what are they looking for? Can I act crazy? No, there is a real list of viable excuses that can be used to stop showing.
The first thing to do is write your excuse and send it to the appropriate court. Remember to use your questionnaire and be specific about why you are exempt. This is important because if it is incomplete or not on the list, it may need to be present for that specific case. Do not wait too long, there is a time limit in which you must submit the form to notify, if you wait beyond the time you will be asked to be present on the date of the case.
There are several excuses that work, the first one would be that your age is over 70 years old. It’s easy because they only require proof of age. Another reason to stop serving is if you have children or a dependent elderly person. In this situation, you will have to explain this situation, but generally, it will not be a problem to stop serving most of the time. If you are a member of a volunteer ambulance or fire department, you are excused immediately.
If the importance of your work is so great that the business could fail if you weren’t there, it can be excused. Usually this is a person who owns a business and is the one in charge. The professions of dentists, nurses, lawyers and doctors will be excused because they are important to society and will not have any problems. If you are disabled and cannot get to court because of your disability, you will also be exempt.
If you have an excuse that needs a detailed explanation, you must be present in court when it is time to be selected in order to explain the situation.
Just remember not to ignore any jury duty summons, it is important to contact them and comply with your legal obligation or submit the reason why you cannot.