As a citizen it is your responsibility to attend jury duty. However, you can give some convincing excuses to get out of it. You must be aware that if you do not present yourself during your jury turn, you would be facing a possible penalization. You can see a clear warning in the jury letter you receive that if you fail to return the form you will have to face the legal consequences. There might be situations where you want to avoid your jury duty as you are locked up with other issues. Here are some jury excuse ideas which you can try to forgo the attendance.
Go through the letter for loopholes
Firstly, thoroughly read the summons you had received and look for clauses that permit you to adjourn the summons. You can consult with your friends, colleagues and neighbors who had been summoned earlier and try to get some ideas. The rules and regulations of the jurisdiction you belong might vary. Therefore look for loopholes and get to know if they can help your current situation.
Put up a bad financial condition
In most of the states, a bad financial state is excused. Gather proofs like your wage slip and tax receipts to present them to judge. You can explain the judge that you cannot miss work as loss of pay can adversely affect your financial condition. Try to convince him without lying.
Plead for a change in date
In federal states, the jury selection processes are mostly computerized. Therefore, your name automatically moves up on the list and the notice is served to your registered address. When you get your jury form, make a note on the form that it is not feasible for you to attend the jury duty marking acceptable reasons like you are sick, traveling out of town, studying law, joining army, etc. If any of these works, your next hearing would be adjourned several months later.
Say you are a sole care giver
If you have children, you can say that you are the sole care giver. If you have elderly people at home, you can also say that you are taking care of them and your presence at home is highly important.
Get a doctor’s note
Submit a doctor’s note to the court that satisfies the criteria mentioned in the summons. It should say that you are sick and require a complete rest. If you are not truly sick, you can make use of fake doctors notes available online. Make it a point that you choose the site that sells authentic looking doctors notes to avoid any penalization.
Are you a student?
If you are a student, you can well make use of it. Even missing work can be accepted but not the lectures or classes. Inform the court that you will be attending important classes during the jury date and ask for postponement.
Final words
The jury reasons you might give should comply with the rules and regulations of the state you belong to. Therefore, before giving any reasons it is recommended that you learn the rules and regulations. If none of the above serves your purpose, better perform your civic duty of attending the jury.
