I have a question about jury duty....

[TK421]

Last year, I got the notice for jury duty...my number was not called so I lucked out.

Today, I got another summons in the mail ( scheduled for March 11th ) for me to appear in downtown Philadelphia. Now, the possibility may be there that my number is not called again, since I have heard a couple of people tell me that has happened to them as well. What happens if you don't respond to the summons? I mean, I get this request in the mail and it says "return this completed form within five business days" Granted, it is a hardship since I don't drive, so I would have about a 15-20 minute walk to the train station to hop a train ( early in the morning ) to go downtown, only to have to hop a frigging bus to get to where I need to go. I could do this, but it would not only be a real hassle, but it would compromise my work position ( I am the only person at my place of business adequately suited for this job ) Also, a little over a year ago I severely damaged my left ankle by slipping on ice...I can walk fine, but after five minutes or so it really starts to hurt. What are my rights here, if any if I were to tell them I can't go because of these two reasons? The form states that if you have a handicap or other physical infirmity that would prevent you from attending, you may be exempt..I am neither of those, but my job really NEEDS me to be there! And I had surgery last year, so I'm not sure if my doctor could write a note for me excusing me from this...the ankle is healed, but hey it still hurts like a bitch at times. Any feedback on this would be appreciated-thanks.

Oh, I asked what happens if you don't respond to this only because I am curious about the consequences...not that I'm looking to break any law, but it is a hardship for me to go there.

[supernova]

1. The police/sherriff can arrest you

bring you into court and the judge could decide to charge you with contempt of court.

I got a notice too for Feb 25. I just served in 2005.

[TK421]

3. I figured as much...what is your take on my situation?

do you think I have a reasonable cause to be excused? I really don't know here...just looking for some answers

By the way..is there some kind of limit on how many times one can be summoned for jury duty?

[supernova]

9. Call the Clerk of the Court and ask

this month to see if those would be acceptable reasons. They are the ones to tell you what their "wiggle room" is.

I can tell you that I tried to get out of mine by saying I am my sole means of support. But that didn't work. :P

Honestly. It is interesting and they do need people. It's likely there will be several trials running and they might run out of people before they run out of jury seats. ;-)

[TK421]

11. Well....I guess I'll try other methods, but my one roommate tried to get me

to go for it the last time ( again, my number just wasn't called ) but he told me how cool it was and all that. My main problem is simply getting there.

[av8rdave]

28. I serve every two years like clockwork

Just finished up Tuesday, in fact...will back in 2011. Once you're in their sights, there's not a lot you can do. Hardship is not considered (at least in my county). They don't really care how often you do it, and how seldom other citizens do. Just the way it is.

[Inchworm]

2. Call ahead and ask them

It's probably possible to get "hardship" over the phone.

Never know 'til ya try :)

:hi:

[TK421]

6. I can try that...I'll see what it gets me-thanks

:hi:

[OmahaBlueDog]

4. Call the clerk and ask

1. A lot of towns/counties have a 2-miss, any excuse policy. You can duck it twice, but the 3rd time you have to show.

2. Ask your doctor for a medical release for all the reasons you just stated. Then, xall the clerk. It may be as simple as faxing in the release.

3. Remember the phrase that pays if you must go.."y'know, I have a lotta darn respect for law enforcement. Sure, you hear about mistakes, but you gotta figure if a guy got arrested, he's most likely guilty."

[TK421]

8. Number three is exactly what a buddy of mine told me to say

it seems to be pretty automatic right there! :D

[MajorChode]

5. It just depends on how they enforce it in your area

You could get fined, you could get some time in jail, you could get your driver's license suspended, the judge could send someone to pick your ass up.

However, more often than not nothing at all happens. Since they typically send the summons out in the regular mail, there's really no way they can prove you received it so in many areas they don't even bother with enforcement and simply send out 2-3 times more summons than what they need and assume that most won't show up.

Ethically I would say you should go. It's a hardship for most people to show up, but it's the price you pay for living in a society ruled by laws, and frankly it's a small price to pay.

[OmahaBlueDog]

7. Suppose you oppose the jury system?

[TK421]

12. What do you think would happen?

I ask this because I have absolutely no idea, and I have enough shit to contend with in my life right now that I have to worry about going down into the city to deal with this crap...aside from the things that would be a pain in the ass getting down there.

[MajorChode]

13. I don't know that you would get too far with that one

However you can refuse to waive your right to jury nullification.

[OmahaBlueDog]

29. I went through a period in Florida where I got called like clockwork annually

The next-to-last time I was called, I ended up on a jury for a capital murder trial for 6 weeks (it turned out I was an alternate, but they don't tell you until after closing arguments).

I could have gotten out of it, but I'm too honest for my own good. I figured if I was honest, there'd be no way I'd be picked (a close friend of mine was murdered in '95, and I mentioned that). I was lucky in that my employer is big into civic responsibility, and they pay full salary for all of jury duty.

I can't tell you what I do for a living, but it pretty much disqualifies me from most civil cases. Most criminal cases, from what I saw, if you put up a fuss in voir dire, you got bounced. That's why I thought general opposition to the jury system might be enough to at least make sure you'd be home after the first voir dire.

[MajorChode]

32. You have to be somewhat discreet about it

Either that or you have to be a good liar. I was an alternate on a murder trial and during the voir dire I saw a guy say he was already convinced the defendant was guilty. It was pretty obvious that he was intentionally trying to get bounced. The judge figured it out and read him the riot act. I was pretty sure at one point the judge was going to throw him in the pokey for contempt, but he softened a bit and just threw him back into the jury pool.

[CreekDog]

15. There is no cause for your comment

That's not what the poster said at all. I thought the poster was very clear about what would happen if the OP skipped jury duty but also clear about the responsibility the OP had to serve.

[CreekDog]

27. i misunderstood your comment at first

sorry. :)

[TK421]

10. Third paragraph....

"Ethically I would say you should go. It's a hardship for most people to show up, but it's the price you pay for living in a society ruled by laws, and frankly it's a small price to pay." is exactly ( almost word-for-word what my one roommate said the last time I was summoned )....he drove a car.

Granted, it may be a small price to pay...however, if I lived ( and worked ) a block away from this courthouse this would not be an issue for me. Jail-time....really? I don't know..I have to look more into Pennsylvania's laws

[CreekDog]

14. If you can't travel there without significant pain, then you should try to opt out

there's no shame in that.

at the very least you should be able to postpone it at least long enough to figure out how you will legally get excused if you cannot serve.

economic hardship, such as you won't get paid by your employer while you serve is a legitimate hardship also. while they may not consider giving up a few days of pay a hardship, something more than that without pay is certainly considered one.

whatever you do be polite and respectful. if you are very young, there's a good chance you will be struck by one of the lawyers anyway.

[TK421]

16. My job will still pay me....vacation time won't be taken out of it or anything

they will pay me, I found that out. The biggest pain in the ass is trucking myself down to the train station and hopping a damn bus to this frigging courthouse ( I STILL don't know where the fuck it is....Philly DU'ers....where are you?!!! ) I will try to opt out, though..I'll give them a call and see what gives. Thanks CD! :thumbsup:

[CreekDog]

17. In my county, they have 2 courthouses, and I was able to get assigned to a closer one

my county is fairly large so the main courthouse, in Redwood City (where they tried Scott Peterson) is about 20 miles away, the other courthouse is about 2 miles away.

[TK421]

18. I'm in Bucks county, and the county seat is Doylestown ( further north, but I can

actually get someone to drive me up there). Philadelphia is the problem in that I can't get anyone to drive me down ( they don't want their car stripped ) and I don't really blame them for it. The Doylestown courthouse is a quick drop-off walk in deal; everything is pretty much right there.

Why am I being summoned to the city? Could this be a federal case, do you think? :shrug:

[supernova]

21. That's entirely possible

Why am I being summoned to the city? Could this be a federal case, do you think?

It could either be a state or federal case. My bet would be federal.

My dad was sitting at home one summer day. He answered the phone (because mom and I were out shopping). It was our county sherriff. He wanted dad to pack a bag and be ready in about an hour because the sherriff was taking him to Raleigh for a state case. He lived at the Hilton for a couple of weeks and enjoyed the bar every evening. ;-)

[MajorChode]

19. Many judges simply don't allow too many excuses

I went to jury duty once and on the first day about 1/4th of the people tried to get out. Almost all were told tough shit.

Some judges are very hard cases and get crappy with people, some are more polite but still refuse to waive service in almost all instances. Health issues are generally the easiest way to get out, but even at that you generally need a doctor's statement if you aren't over 70.

It is usually pretty easy to get a deferment. You can usually just call the clerk and tell them you can't make the assigned date and ask for a later one.

[Lil Missy]

20. Show up the first day. Explain your hardship. Don't just fart it off.

I've been called twice, and both times were inconvenient.

My employer (same one both times) had to suck it up. I served both times, and I was the jury foreman on one.

Don't just not show up. There are legal reasons why that is not acceptable. How would you like it if you went on trial, and the jury did not show up?

Get your ass there the first day, and make your case to be excused.

[TK421]

22. I'll take your advice into consideration..thank you n/t

[TK421]

23. Thank you everyone for your input on this...it did help a great deal

there are some things I will attempt here, and let's see if it works out. :thumbsup:

[rug]

24. Up to $500 and 10 days in jail for contempt of court if you don't answer it.

These are your exemptions:

Title 42 of the Judiciary Code

§ 4503. Exemptions from jury duty

(a) General rule.--No person shall be exempt or excused from jury duty except the following:

(1) Persons in active service of the armed forces of the United States or of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

(2) Persons who have served within three years next preceding on any jury except a person who served as a juror for fewer than three days in any one year in which case the exemption period shall be one year.

(3) Persons demonstrating to the court undue hardship or extreme inconvenience may be excused permanently or for such period as the court determines is necessary, and if excused for a limited period shall, at the end of the period, be assigned to the next jury array.

(4) Spouses, children, siblings, parents, grandparents and grandchildren of victims of criminal homicide under 18 Pa.C.S. § 2501 (relating to criminal homicide).


You probably qualify for extreme inconvenience or undue hardship.

If it's federal jury duty, it's $100 and three days.

http://frwebgate1.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/TEXTgate.cgi?WAISdocID=889413207259+8+1+0&WAISaction=retrieve

[SPKrazy]

25. Just Show Up Drunk

and you won't have to worry about jury duty

:D

[Name removed]

26. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[PaddyBlueEyes]

30. Go and tell them you

cant be fair...they will boot you.

[msanthrope]

31. Look on the back of the Summons--in Philly, there's a form you

fill out on the back and request a put off for 6 months or so. Give your reasons, you don't need a dr's note. Usually, it will be given without a fuss....but Philly has gotten serious about fining/enforcement.

You are going to the CJC at 13th and Filbert. Take the El to Market east and walk the 2 blocks, or one of the Rs into Suburban Station. Go early--there will be coffee and cake served, paid for by the fines of people who didn't show.....

And make sure you have lunch in the Terminal.