How to Defer Jury Duty

Intro: Jury duty is inevitable but there are ways to excuse yourself from going if you are busy or have a good excuse. Follow these steps to defer jury duty.

Step 1: Once you get your jury summons in the mail, you need to check the date and see if there is a scheduling conflict.

Step 2: If there is a valid conflict or reason you cannot attend jury duty on that date, you will be able to defer jury duty by following the instructions on the summons.

Step 3: The typically process to defer jury duty and request an excusal is to write them a letter stating why you cannot come and then attaching some sort of proof. Mail this to them and they will either mail you something back or the summons may state that you must call them within 3-4 days of mailing the excusal request.

Step 4: To defer jury duty, you must have a good excuse. If you are getting married, are 300 miles away at college, 9 months pregnant, and etc then you have a good excuse. Some “OK” excuses which may work could be that you are a stay at home mom and you are the only one who can watch your kids, you don’t have a car to get to court, and etc. Whatever the case may be, it never hurts to try.

Step 5: You may have to give the court an alternate date that you may be available for jury duty. If you really want to defer jury duty, tell them the date of a holiday where everyone is off.

Step 6: If you cannot defer jury duty, then you may get lucky and be excused the day before or the day of jury duty. If not, serve on the jury and perform your public service.

Tips: To defer jury duty, you usually must have proof and a reasonable excuse.

Follow the specific steps listed on the summons to request an excusal.

Warnings: Not showing up for jury duty could result in fines or a warrant for your arrest.

Comments (2)

paul said:

	... If you just call an ask them to move your jury duty date, they usually will.
	report abuse vote down vote up

July 02, 2009
Votes: +1

veryatlantic said:

	... Careful. Those who defer jury duty have reported extreme delays applying for government programs later in life, such as Social Security and Disability. It is a pity the American public tolerates this abuse of public records as blackmail to shanghai jurors when there are so many willing volunteers.
	report abuse vote down vote up

March 26, 2010
Votes: -1