What happens if you are summoned for jury duty but don't attend or get excused?

Question

What happens if you are summoned for jury duty but don't attend or get excused?

Answer 1

Although the penalties vary some depending on your locality, usually you are held in contempt of court and can be fined and/or serve jail or community service time.

Sure, jury duty is a hassle, but avoiding it is far worse. If you appear you can try to get the judge to dismiss you on hardship grounds, or you may be excused when the attorneys interview the potential jurors and dismiss people who they feel are biased.

Answer 2

You are in contempt of court, and could be arrested.

Answer 3

A warrant will be issued for your arrest.

Answer 4

If you are summoned and do not attend without being excused, you can be arrested and/or fined for failure to appear.

Answer 5

If you are summoned, many courts have a number you are supposed to call the day that you are to appear, and you will be told whether or not your number is up.  When I was summoned, I called this number for the first three days of my week of jury duty; after that, they told me I didn't need to appear at all.  I stopped calling the number, and I didn't have to do anything else.  I'm back in the pool and could get called again at a later time.

If you simply don't show up and you are required to, you are held in contempt of court, and a bench warrant will be issued for your arrest.

Answer 6

do you still have a" get out of jail free card"?

Answer 7

If you are excused, they put your name back in to be called again later.  If you simply don't show, they could issue a bench warrant and have you arrested.