Getting Out of Jury Duty

While this article on no way urges people to try and evade their civic duty, the roles and responsibilities of the average citizen don't always fall on convenient days of the calendar. Worse, what seems a critical threat to health, financial well-being and daily operations of your household may not amount to a hill of beans inside a courtroom.

A jury service response should be met with careful preparation. Mistakes made can result in being held in contempt. Make sure you rehearse the manner you will speak because executing these. Here are the ways to get out of jury service if you absolutely positively have to not be there the next day, or next few weeks.

1. Traumatized by Crime

Being a victim of crime. One of the ways to get out of jury duty is to claim to be a victim of a crime. The critical time to get off jury duty is at the beginning of the voir dire. The jury selection process includes an inquisition and verbal overview of the people who have had crimes happen to them in the past.

The conventional wisdom holds that someone with a grudge will be most sympathetic to the wronged party. By expressing a crime ridden sympathetic role to a victim a set of plaintiff counsel and defending attorney will try to rid themselves of someone who identities with the victim. .

2. Can't Listen to Reason

The judge will conduct a question and answer session about the trustworthiness of your responses and look for proof and validation regarding your interest in getting excused. Jury duty is considered a right and privilege. But if you pretend not to hear plain English or misunderstand key words, the judge may allow you to be dismissed on sheer nuisance value.

But the justice system is supposed around a jury member listening to all the evidence. If you extemporize at length about lack of morals or use slang, the judge may allow your peremptory dismissal out of sheer distaste. Not listening to reason means you have a distinct inability to follow the line of questioning or path of argument.

3. Dress Really, Really Badly