Jury Duty

Soarer
Fri, 05 Aug 2011 12:52:52 +0000

I had jury duty a few months ago, but was disqualified based on the “partiality” questions (i.e. Do you know anyone related to this case? Have you or a family member ever been involved in this type of case?) that they ask when they first bring the jury pool into the courtroom. So, I guess I was “lucky”…

(Though it would be interesting to serve on a jury at some point, I guess.)

Anyway…

In my state (MA) if you expect there to be a conflict when you get the initial summons, call immediately. They will reschedule you to a more convenient date. The summons also lists exemptions for jury duty (i.e. must care for a disabled family member, has a severe disability that affects ability to serve).

I have also heard that in some states, EMTs and volunteer firefighters are exempt from jury duty, as they are already fulfilling their “civic duty”, but I don’t know which states these are.