Jury Duty Excusal in California
Although jury duty is generally required of American citizens, there are ways to get out of it. Here’s how to get out of jury duty in California.
For people in certain situations, such as those who have a vacation scheduled during the time period in which they are supposed to be on jury duty, a postponement may be requested for up to 90 days. For those who want to escape jury duty altogether, a valid excuse must be provided to the court in writing or placed on the court’s record. Examples of valid excuses include not having available public or private transportation to the courthouse, having to care for another person, or having a physical or mental impairment.
Postponements
Jury duty is essential to the proper functioning of our court system, and it is a responsibility of American citizenship. Sometimes, however, it is simply too inconvenient. In situations such as this, a prospective juror may request a postponement for up to 90 days. For example, an individual may have an important business trip during the week that they are supposed to report for their jury summons. Or, someone may have a surgery scheduled during this time period. These individuals may postpone their jury duty until any time in the following 90 days, but it is preferable that they choose the soonest available period of time. The jury summons will generally have information regarding how to request a postponement.
Additionally, a student or teacher may request a postponement for their jury duty until the next school break, even if it is more than 90 days away. This means that being a student or a teacher is not a valid excuse in itself to completely get out of jury duty.
Excusals
However, there are a number of valid reasons to be completely excused from jury duty. According to the 2021 California Rules of Court, there are two categories of excusal: excusal due to previous jury duty service and excusal due to undue hardship. In either case, in order to be excused, the prospective juror must provide the reasoning in writing to the court or place it on the court record.
The first category (excusal due to previous jury duty service) is mostly self-explanatory. If a prospective juror has appeared for jury duty either on a grand jury or trial jury in the past 12 months, then they will be excused from their current summons if requested. 12 months is merely the minimum, however; the jury commissioner has the discretion to excuse a person for previous jury duty service even if the service was more than 12 months prior.
There are several reasons listed in the California Rules of Court for which a person may be excused from jury duty because of undue hardship. If any of the following apply, a prospective juror may request excusal:
- They do not have reasonably available transportation to the courthouse, including both private and public transit.
- They have to travel more than one and a half hours to the courthouse (unless stated otherwise in a local statute).
- Jury duty will cause them an extreme financial burden. In determining this, the court will consider their income, the availability of income reimbursement, the length of service, and whether or not jury duty would compromise their ability to support themselves or their dependents.
- They will face a risk of damage to their property.
- They have a physical or mental impairment that would cause them to face undue risk of harm.
- If they are below the age of 70, they may have to prove their impairment and why it might cause them to be harmed.
- They protect public health and safety, and their serving on jury duty would reduce essential public services (for example, being the only doctor in a small town).
- They have an obligation to provide necessary care to another (such as an elderly person or child) and providing alternative care would impose an undue economic burden.
As such, there are many reasons that a person could use to get out of jury duty, but it is generally more difficult than simply stating that one is busy or needs to work. If merely having a job was a valid reason by itself to get out of jury duty, then nobody would do jury duty. It is important to remember that prospective jurors should never lie in order to be excused from jury duty; they could easily be found in contempt and placed in jail.
Getting Out of Jury Duty During Jury Selection
A jury duty summons is merely a summons to attend selection day, where prospective jurors will be interviewed in order to determine whether or not they would be a good fit for the jury. If a prospective juror was unable to escape jury duty by providing an excuse, then they may be able to escape jury duty during this questioning. However, the only way that they can legally escape jury duty at this point is by answering the questions truthfully and hoping that it in some way disqualifies them. For example, they may ask the prospective juror if they could be impartial in a certain case. The juror may then state that they would always vote either guilty or not guilty in that case based on their convictions (if that is true). Their bias may then disqualify them from participating on the jury.
FAQs About Escaping Jury Duty in California
Is jury duty required?
Jury duty is a responsibility of American citizenship, and it is required unless the prospective juror provides a valid excuse.
Can jury duty be postponed?
Yes. A prospective juror can request a postponement if jury duty at that particular time would greatly inconvenience them. They can postpone for up to 90 days, and students and teachers can postpone until the next school break.
Can a person be excused from jury duty?
Yes. There are several valid reasons for being excused from jury duty, including not having reasonable transportation or extreme financial hardship.
Is having a job a valid reason to get out of jury duty?
It depends. The prospective jury must show that jury duty would cause them an extreme financial burden or perhaps unduly burden the company that they work for.
Can I be excused from jury duty if I have already done jury duty?
If you have done jury duty in the last 12 months, you will be excused from jury duty if requested.
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