Jury duty rules vary greatly among states, and even among different courts within a state. Federal courts also have their own rules which may differ significantly from state courts. Your summons includes the name of the court where you’ve been called to serve and the type of jury for which you’ve been called. It also provides the date you are scheduled to appear and deadlines for contacting the jury office if you want to request to have your service postponed or permanently excused.
Generally, jurors must be residents of the jurisdiction over which the court presides. If you’re no longer a resident of that area, you are ineligible to serve on a jury there. For example, if you are a full-time student in another state, your name may have been chosen because your “permanent address” is your parents’ address. However, if you rent an apartment, have a job, and have a new driver’s license in the state where your school is located, you may not be considered a continuing resident at your parents’ address. Whether you’re eligible to serve on a jury may depend on how names of potential jurors are gathered. For example, even if you have a driver’s license in another state, you may still be considered eligible for jury duty in your home state if you are still registered to vote there. Some states pool the names of potential jurors from several different sources, including state tax returns. Typically, you must be able to show that you no longer have that connection to the state.
Eligibility requirements generally include your age and place of residence. This is where how names of potential jurors are collected comes into play. If you can prove you aren’t a resident of the jurisdiction, you can get out of jury duty. However, you must be able to establish that you no longer have residential ties to that place. Typically students who go to school out-of-state are considered residents of the state where they lived before going to school – not residents of the state where there school is located. This is different in some jurisdictions. For example, you are considered a resident of Massachusetts (and therefore eligible for jury duty) if you live there 50 percent of the time, which would be the case if you were going to school at Boston University, even if your parents lived in Connecticut and their address was considered your permanent address. Keep in mind that ineligibility differs from an excuse for an important reason – the clerk or judge has no discretion over whether to require you to serve. In other words, if you are ineligible to serve because you aren’t a resident of that jurisdiction, you don’t meet the basic criteria for being a juror. The residency requirement is the same as if you were summoned to jury duty when you were 17 (because only residents 18 and over can be jurors).
Keep in mind that jury duty is seldom convenient, nor is it something that most people want to do. For this reason, the jury office probably has heard every excuse in the book. Review the information that accompanies your summons, or check the court’s website to find out what excuses are specifically required by the law, and what you must show to prove the excuse applies to you. The jury office also has varying degrees of discretion regarding whether an excuse should be accepted, but in most cases no excuse will automatically get you out of jury duty. Some states have certain categories of people who are considered “exempt” from jury duty. This means that although they are technically eligible to serve, they have some condition which means it’s in the broader interest of justice to allow them to get out of jury duty. For this reason, they are exempt from being compelled to serve. However, if you qualify for an exemption but want to serve anyway, you typically are allowed to do so. For example, although there is no upper age limit on jury service, many jurisdictions state that people over the age of 70 are exempt. This means if you are over 70 in one of these jurisdictions and you don’t want to serve on a jury, all you have to do is let them know.
Check your summons for the deadline by which you must notify the jury office that you have an excuse, and where you must send that notice. In most cases, staff in the jury office can’t accept a jury duty excuse over the phone – it must be in writing. Particularly in federal court, your summons may include a questionnaire that you must fill out and return before a certain date. This questionnaire covers many of the excuses that may apply to your situation.
There may be a form included with your summons. If so, you should use that. Otherwise, you’ll have to write a letter. Keep your letter brief and state the reason you believe you should be excused from jury duty. Provide specific facts to back up your excuse. If you have documents that prove anything you’ve said in support of your argument, you should attach them to your letter or form. Make a copy of everything you send to the jury office before you mail it, and make sure you send it in enough time to get there before any deadline stated on your summons. Keep in mind that the jury office may be more open to deferring your service than excusing it outright. You may want to include alternate dates when you would be available to serve. Doing this means you may get a deferral even if the jury office doesn’t excuse you entirely.
Even if you don’t receive written notice of the decision, it still is your responsibility to keep up with the status of your request so you know whether you need to appear for jury duty. Your summons typically will include a number for you to call to check the status of your correspondence with the jury office. If the date on your summons is approaching and you still haven’t heard anything, call that number and find out if you’re still expected to appear. Keep in mind that if your excuse is denied, you still will be expected to appear on the date specified on your summons, or you may be considered in contempt of court.
Gather any documents you might need. Some courts may want a copy of your student ID or other proof that you are a full-time student. While several states have laws that allow students to defer jury duty, it’s important to keep in mind that asking for your jury duty to be postponed is no guarantee that it will be. Typically, these deferrals are only allowed for full-time students, not part-time students.
Some courts, including federal courts, still require you to send your request in writing. You still must complete the juror questionnaire for federal court juries and send it in before the deadline listed on your original summons, even if you are requesting a deferral. If you’re allowed to request a deferral over the phone, make sure you have your summons with you so you can provide your juror number or any other information listed on your summons as confirmation.
Keep in mind the jury office typically won’t defer your jury duty more than six months out – so if it’s September, you may be in jury duty over fall or winter break, rather than being able to wait until the end of the school year. Even if you live in a state that doesn’t allow jury service to be rescheduled during a school break, you still may be able to have the date rescheduled if it conflicts with an important exam or presentation.
Keep in mind that some courts will not notify you by mail if your request for a deferral has been granted. Look at the information provided by the jury office, and keep in mind that it is your responsibility to find out if your service was deferred or if you still are required to appear on the dates on your original summons. If deferral is not granted, you still must appear on the date that you’re scheduled, even if this means you have to miss class. Let your professors know in advance the reason for your absence and make arrangements to make up any tests or assignments that you miss.
