How to Get Out of Jury Duty

(YouTube link)

Mr. Forthright shares his wisdom of the many ways you can get kicked off jury duty. In reality, just being truthful in response to every question will probably get you out of serving. You will still miss a few days of work, because the system is anything but streamlined.

I would never advise that you try to get out of jury duty. It’s part of the obligation we have as citizens of a democracy, after all. As a stable, upstanding citizen who votes in every election, I have been summoned quite a few times. However, I have never gotten as far as sitting on an actual court case. That one question, “Has anyone in your family ever been convicted of a crime?” gets me thrown off every time. They don’t ask how close the family member was, or what crime it was. I don’t see how they can ever seat an entire panel by being that picky. -via Tastefully Offensive


Newest 4
Newest 4 Comments

I was going to say engineers too, although a few of them that I know seem to get by and end up on juries once in a while. I think one of the formal reasons for rejecting such people is wanting experts as witnesses, not jurors. Although a lot of fields of research that doesn't apply to (outside of some comedy sitcom situation), and kind of points toward your reason instead. It hasn't actually happened to me yet though, as I haven't been summoned since the one incident years ago that I mentioned above.
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
My dad, who was an engineer, encountered something similar. On the few times that he's been called to jury duty, he would be dismissed as soon as one attorney learned that he was an engineer.

My dad thinks that it's because engineers think logically and would not be easily swayed by emotions. Maybe you were dismissed for the same reason.
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
Another way to get out of jury duty: get a PhD. Considering the effort put into avoiding jury duty, that might be the path of least resistance for some... But seriously, about every friend and coworker I have working in science fields, PhD or not, has gotten rejected for jury duty when asked what their job was.

Although some judges still try pretty hard to keep people from getting out of jury duty, as I once had a judge tell me that attending a school 2500 miles away was no excuse. He did eventually say I could ask to reschedule it for when I was home on break, although I guess the clerk didn't want to deal with that and just had my summons dropped.
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
I don't understand that one, either. For us, it's "have you or anyone in your family ever been the victim of a crime?" Basically everyone who says no is lying. Either way, asking about the specifics of the crime, who was involved, was there an arrest, did it go to trial, how long ago, etc. makes much more sense.
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
Login to comment.




Email This Post to a Friend
"How to Get Out of Jury Duty"

Separate multiple emails with a comma. Limit 5.

 

Success! Your email has been sent!

close window
X

This website uses cookies.

This website uses cookies to improve user experience. By using this website you consent to all cookies in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

I agree
 
Learn More