How do I get out of doing jury duty?

Question

I just received a summons for jury duty on the 14th of this month, unfortunately it falls on the first day of my upcoming spring semester of school, and I do not want to miss my first day of school. But unfortunately that excuse wouldn't hold up so I need a better one. So far the best I've come up with is it's against my religion and I have a whole speech to go with that excuse. But I am open to better and more convincing reasons. So let me know.

Answer 1

Call and ask for a postponement. Explain your reason. And spend some time between now and then thinking about why you want to shirk your civic duty. And don't forget to never ever complain about the justice system.

Answer 2

if you say religion they will do a check (officially religions have to meet some requirement so you cant make one up and they will see if you have been active enough to justify it but generally you dont get up. plus just getting called up meanst hey will sort through all the peoplethat come (like 3 juries worth) and they pik 11 of them act wierd so they dont pick you

Answer 3

some people say that they are racist, or that it wold effect them economicly

Answer 4

The excuse it against you religion will not hold up. Sign your self into a mental institution for a day and then sign out. people that have been to one can not pull JD.

Answer 5

Usually, most courts allow a single postponement for any excuse what so ever.  Sending in the form is a formality.

The drawback is that you have only a limited availability to limit available alternate dates and it's extremely hard to get out of the second date.

Jury duty had better be a legitimate reason to miss class or the school is going to come under some serious flack.  Best bet is to take the original date and find a way to contact the professor in order to get any material you missed.  

You're going to have a tough time coming up with an excuse that gets you out of jury duty completely and you're taking a risk of the alternate date being worse than the original date if you reschedule.

Edit:  I'm perplexed by the comments 'the professor SHOULD understand' and 'see IF the professor'.  If not understanding or not providing the material is a valid option for the professor, then there's a big problem.  A private school MIGHT get away with penalizing students for jury duty.  A public school is jeopardizing their funding.

Answer 6

Our area uses more than voting registration. They use auto registration, and some other lists.  It is your duty to do the jury duty.  It is a mainstay of our system, and very important.  Talk to the school professor and see if you can get the assignments and just be late for the start of the semester.

Answer 7

You may not have to serve, you call the night before and see if you do have to serve. Just because you have a summons doesn't mean there will be a trial, you have to jury for.

Answer 8

Jury duty is your civic duty as a registered voter.  The best you can do is call them and explain your situation.  If they deny your request, show up.  Your fist day of class is about useless anyways.  Your Professor should understand as well.

If you don't want to be called for Jury Duty, don't register to vote.

Answer 9

I don't know you, and no offense intended, but just tell the truth. If you are asked to sit in the jury; that your own interests are more important than anything someone else is having the book thrown at them for allegedly doing somewhere in your community. You don't want your precious time wasted by persuasive plaintiffs and endless twisted manipulation of facts, to sway the opinion of a dozen folks, who resent the obligation to listen and remain objective.

Answer 10

You can fill out the form and ask for the delay of service.  I did it often when I was in school and would get a summons during midterms or finals.  If you call the court you can tell them that you will serve and ask if it can be delayed at least one month.

Answer 11

Depending on where you have been summoned, some courts will let you postpone the date. On the day, you can always be sick, have a family emergency, etc...There are a number of ways to be struck from a jury. At the begining, when the lawyers are asking questions to figure out who they want, you can see what the case is basicly about. If it is robbery, it would be hard for you to be impartial as a juror if you have been robbed before. On a civil case, it would be hard to serve if you have a relative employed by the company being sued.