Jury Duty.......
- Thread starter fairemily
- Start date
Hey you never know, my wife got a summoms while she was sick and I had to jump through some hoops to make them understand she was bed ridden but finally she was excused. The last time had to go I went one day and was excused cause they did not need us. Some times it is just the loss of a day if you don't get picked. Sometimes you never have to report. On the island you are given a number and told to call on a certian day and the message tells you what numbers they want to report where. My son last time never even had to report and is done with his civil duty for the next 3 years. I don't know how that works in the city though. But good luck.
Thanks, my doctor is very renowned so I hope his credibility pulls some strings, maybe I should bring his book to back up the note. If I have to do I have to, I don't mind the concept of jury duty but I would rather do it later in the year when I am more flexible. I would never get picked to be in a jury, I would not lie but my beliefs are way too radical.
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It isn't as hard as all that, sort of. You can never get out of serving. That's almost impossible. But you can get one, or even two or three deferments. Your first deferment is easy to get. Just call and ask. Your second deferment, you may have to write a letter saying why you can't make it on that particular date and say when you can make it. After that, further defrements are in the discretion of the clerk. But once you run out of deferments, you're stuck and you'll have to report. In all likelihood, though you won't wind up serving. I would kill to be on a jury, as I think it would be cool. I always report when called, and after 10 or so times, I have never been picked.
I don't think you can get out of Jury Duty that easily. You can postpone it once or twice, but then they make you choose a date. Overall Jury Duty is not that bad, you basically show up for about 3 days and if you are not on a case, they let you go...
Most cases are settled before they even go to trial, so selecting a Jury is really a ploy to see who will take the deals that are going about before the trial starts..
Most cases are settled before they even go to trial, so selecting a Jury is really a ploy to see who will take the deals that are going about before the trial starts..
In some places, when you ask for a change in date, you are allowed to name a new date for your service. Pick a Friday before a long three-day holiday weekend, like Labor Day. Or pick the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Most judges don't want to start a trial on the day before that kind of weekend, so the chances of getting stuck with a long trial (or any trial) is low.
Emily,
There is no need to listen to anyone speculate as to what can happen.
Go to the NYS Uniform Court site and look for the link to jurors on the right side of the page it will answer all your questions.
Generarlly, Postponements of Jury service to a future date will be granted to anyone who has not been previously postponed. First time postponements are automatic. You have to select a new service date between 2 months and 6 months from the service date found on your summons. Don't delay doing that. Any subsequent postponements must go through the commissioner of jurors office and you will need a good reason.
You will be assigned the first available date closest to your choice. Any future postponement request must be made by calling your local commissioner of jurors office at the number on the front of this summons.
Exemptions for medical reasons are at the discretion of the local commissioner of jurors offiice and your request must be supported by accompanying documentation. A copy of your doctor's book won't do a thing. your doctor will need to disclose your medical condition and how that condition disqualifies you from service.
Picking a date around a holiday as someone suggested won't necessarily work because a trial doesn't have to start immediately and it can start after the holiday weekend. Jurors are selected first and then the case is assigned to a trial judge. Most jury's are selected without a judge even present unless one side or the other requests it or a dispute arises and a judge needs to settle the dispute. Even then, it will usually be decided by a judicial hearing officer )basically a retired judge) and not by the judge who will hear the trial.
You should request your postponement and then talk to your doctor about whether he can support with documentation your request for an exemption.
Go to the website I suggested - it will answer all your questions with facts not speculation.
There is no need to listen to anyone speculate as to what can happen.
Go to the NYS Uniform Court site and look for the link to jurors on the right side of the page it will answer all your questions.
Generarlly, Postponements of Jury service to a future date will be granted to anyone who has not been previously postponed. First time postponements are automatic. You have to select a new service date between 2 months and 6 months from the service date found on your summons. Don't delay doing that. Any subsequent postponements must go through the commissioner of jurors office and you will need a good reason.
You will be assigned the first available date closest to your choice. Any future postponement request must be made by calling your local commissioner of jurors office at the number on the front of this summons.
Exemptions for medical reasons are at the discretion of the local commissioner of jurors offiice and your request must be supported by accompanying documentation. A copy of your doctor's book won't do a thing. your doctor will need to disclose your medical condition and how that condition disqualifies you from service.
Picking a date around a holiday as someone suggested won't necessarily work because a trial doesn't have to start immediately and it can start after the holiday weekend. Jurors are selected first and then the case is assigned to a trial judge. Most jury's are selected without a judge even present unless one side or the other requests it or a dispute arises and a judge needs to settle the dispute. Even then, it will usually be decided by a judicial hearing officer )basically a retired judge) and not by the judge who will hear the trial.
You should request your postponement and then talk to your doctor about whether he can support with documentation your request for an exemption.
Go to the website I suggested - it will answer all your questions with facts not speculation.
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Emily:
If your problem is just that you don't want to go for jury duty right now, you already got some good advice from the posters above.
If what you really want is to avoid being picked for a jury, here's how:
For a criminal matter, tell the prosecutor that you could never feel comfortable being responsible for sending someone to jail, or tell the defense attorney that you don't believe the police would charge someone with a crime unless he was probably guilty.
For a civil matter, tell the plaintiff's attorney that you think it's a disgrace that everyone is suing everyone else these days, or tell the defense attorney that you think people with deep pockets should be punished severely if they harm someone.
Disclosure of this kind of bias will get you dismissed every time, and the attorneys are happy to do it, because it won't count against their discretionary challenges if you've demonstrated a bias.
If your problem is just that you don't want to go for jury duty right now, you already got some good advice from the posters above.
If what you really want is to avoid being picked for a jury, here's how:
For a criminal matter, tell the prosecutor that you could never feel comfortable being responsible for sending someone to jail, or tell the defense attorney that you don't believe the police would charge someone with a crime unless he was probably guilty.
For a civil matter, tell the plaintiff's attorney that you think it's a disgrace that everyone is suing everyone else these days, or tell the defense attorney that you think people with deep pockets should be punished severely if they harm someone.
Disclosure of this kind of bias will get you dismissed every time, and the attorneys are happy to do it, because it won't count against their discretionary challenges if you've demonstrated a bias.
Since most states moved the pool system from registered voters to licensed drivers few escape getting a notice at some point for jury duty. What is more these states attach driver's privileges with jury duty service. So refusing to serve could get your drivers license in the state you live in suspended.
Jury duty in NY and NJ can be postponed for family emergency, health concerns or a letter from an employer stating your services are critical at your job at that particular moment. You may also be excused if you have some defect that precludes you for service that that was unknown to the jury selection system in either state.
Postponement will NOT exempt you from being selected again in the next round of jury selection. In fact, you can probably count on it at some point not too far down the line from the point you are excused.
Jury duty in NY and NJ can be postponed for family emergency, health concerns or a letter from an employer stating your services are critical at your job at that particular moment. You may also be excused if you have some defect that precludes you for service that that was unknown to the jury selection system in either state.
Postponement will NOT exempt you from being selected again in the next round of jury selection. In fact, you can probably count on it at some point not too far down the line from the point you are excused.
You can't easily get excused from jury duty anymore. You can get a postponement as I explained above.
You may shorten your stay if you get picked for a jury if you give either the prosecution or the defense attorney(s) cause to dismiss you during the voir dire process. This is were the prosecutor and the defense counsel ask questions of you to determine if you would make a satisfactory, in their estimation, jurist for their case.
Getting excused in such a manner may not get you punted from that sessions jury pool [though it probably will] and it will not exempt you from being called again at a later date.
Emily;
Just don't piss off the judge with alot of excuses when you are on the voir dire process. Once I was on a jury panel for voir dire and this one person said they could not serve because on the trial might be too long for him to sit in single position for an entire day. Then he had elaborated that he had to take frequent bathroom breaks, then went on to saying he could only stay till 4pm.
When the judge then asked if he worked and if he had any problems with the 'medical' problems, the guy said not really, it was more of an inconvenience at times...
The judge then asked the bailiff to bring this individual back to the jury pool and explicitly told the bailiff that this individual had to restart his entire jury duty process over again... This poor guy had been in the jury pool for 3 days and I believe it was going to be his last day there...
Again, don't make up alot of excuses to get off a jury panel...
There really is no way of escaping Jury Duty...
Just don't piss off the judge with alot of excuses when you are on the voir dire process. Once I was on a jury panel for voir dire and this one person said they could not serve because on the trial might be too long for him to sit in single position for an entire day. Then he had elaborated that he had to take frequent bathroom breaks, then went on to saying he could only stay till 4pm.
When the judge then asked if he worked and if he had any problems with the 'medical' problems, the guy said not really, it was more of an inconvenience at times...
The judge then asked the bailiff to bring this individual back to the jury pool and explicitly told the bailiff that this individual had to restart his entire jury duty process over again... This poor guy had been in the jury pool for 3 days and I believe it was going to be his last day there...
Again, don't make up alot of excuses to get off a jury panel...
There really is no way of escaping Jury Duty...
For the record, when I stated the above the use of the term "for cause" was the legal use of the term not medical excuses like being unable to sit for extended periods or needing bathroom breaks.
"For cause", in this usage, means that either the prosecutor or the defense counsel finds you to have something in your make up that would be detrimental to the presentation of their case. Like, for instance, stating that you have ever worked for law enforcement would almost definitely get you excused for cause by a defense attorney in a criminal case. Though the same may not have that effect at all if you were chosen as a jurist for a civil case.
Example: In being chosen to sit on a wrongful death suit against a hospital you were asked by either counsel if you had ever stayed in a hospital and your reply was that you had, you felt you had been treated very badly, had continuing problems after you left the hospital and now felt all hospitals to be incapable of providing good health care to their patients. In that case the hospital's attorney would almost definitely excuse you for cause.
"For cause", in this usage, means that either the prosecutor or the defense counsel finds you to have something in your make up that would be detrimental to the presentation of their case. Like, for instance, stating that you have ever worked for law enforcement would almost definitely get you excused for cause by a defense attorney in a criminal case. Though the same may not have that effect at all if you were chosen as a jurist for a civil case.
Example: In being chosen to sit on a wrongful death suit against a hospital you were asked by either counsel if you had ever stayed in a hospital and your reply was that you had, you felt you had been treated very badly, had continuing problems after you left the hospital and now felt all hospitals to be incapable of providing good health care to their patients. In that case the hospital's attorney would almost definitely excuse you for cause.
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Radical Legal Beliefs?
I can totally understand about not wanting to get stuck with jury duty. The one time I was chosen I got lucky and was dismissed after one day, and that was after showing up like 2 hours late! I think the clerk took pity on me. So maybe try running into the room way late in a total panic, soaked with rain.
I'm curious though - what kind of radical legal theories do you have? You seem like a pretty reasonable person to me - if I was on trial I think I'd want you on my jury. Or, maybe not?
-nycoder
I can totally understand about not wanting to get stuck with jury duty. The one time I was chosen I got lucky and was dismissed after one day, and that was after showing up like 2 hours late! I think the clerk took pity on me. So maybe try running into the room way late in a total panic, soaked with rain.
I'm curious though - what kind of radical legal theories do you have? You seem like a pretty reasonable person to me - if I was on trial I think I'd want you on my jury. Or, maybe not?
-nycoder
I agree that it is extremely difficult to get totally dimissed from jury duty. The two times I have been called I used my first deferment and picked a date that I thought would not be a popular one for lawyers or judges. For example, I picked the week before July 4 and the week before Memorial day. In both instances I only went for one day and was dismissed after never leaving the main jury room.
Re: Jury duty
Emily; are you a US citizen? They used to pull names from the voter registration, but now they pull from the DMV files. I was on jury duty a few years ago and someone was selected for a trail, during the Q&A session, one of the jurors was asked if they were a US citizen, they said no and the judge dismissed the juror. You must be a US citizen to serve on a jury
Emily; are you a US citizen? They used to pull names from the voter registration, but now they pull from the DMV files. I was on jury duty a few years ago and someone was selected for a trail, during the Q&A session, one of the jurors was asked if they were a US citizen, they said no and the judge dismissed the juror. You must be a US citizen to serve on a jury