Maggie Koerth-Baker
How To Get Out of Jury Duty
by Maggie Koerth-Baker - December 5, 2006 - 12:17 PM

The Easy Way: Be Famous
Hey, we didn’t say anything about this being the easily accessible way. But, if you are blessed with the sort of fame that leads media types to follow your every move, then chances are, you won’t ever get chosen for jury duty. Why? Frankly, your presence would be distracting in the courtroom. In 2003, for instance, Bill Clinton was called in as Prospective Juror No. 142 on a New York City murder trial, but was eliminated only a couple of days into the jury selection process. The judge on the trial felt that President Clinton (and the Secret Service agents who follow him at all times) would sensationalize the atmosphere in the courtroom.

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The Illegal Way: Lie
Whether you say you’re “prejudiced against all the races,” as per Homer Simpson, or simply claim that your Grandma died, lying is a time-honored way to both get out of jury duty AND get thrown in jail for contempt of court. Just ask Benjamin Ratliffe, an anti-death penalty activist from Columbus, Ohio. In June 2006, Ratliffe was called in for jury selection on a capital murder trial. Unwilling to risk being on a jury that might want to hand down a death sentence, Ratliffe decided to take matters into his own hands. When he was given a form to fill out, he intentionally flubbed a couple key questions. At one point in the questionnaire, Ratliffe claimed he was “bad jonesin’ for heroin.” When asked if he’d ever fired a weapon, he responded, “Yes. I killed someone with it, of course.” The result was a sort of be-careful-what-you-wish-for moral lesson. Ratliffe did get out of jury duty, but he also spent 24 hours in jail for obstruction of justice before he finally agreed to apologize to the judge.

The Smart Way: Know a Bit of Legal Trivia
Next time you’re in the jury selection process and really want out, just inform the court that you know all about jury nullification…and you aren’t afraid to use it. A little-known facet of common law dating back to Elizabethan England, jury nullification happens when a jury hands down a “not guilty” verdict—but not because they think the defendant is innocent. Instead, they’re making a statement about the validity of the law itself. The first jury nullification happened in 1670, when William Penn (of Pennsylvania fame) and William Mead (of no fame) were charged with unlawful assembly—a crime basically created to prevent unsanctioned religious groups from getting together to worship. Clearly, both men were guilty, but the jury refused to convict them on the grounds that the law was unjust. The practice continued in America. Throughout the mid-1800s, northern juries would frequently nullify prosecutions against people who violated the Fugitive Slave Laws. And, during Prohibition, juries around the country nullified numerous alcohol control violations. Prior to the 20th century, nullification was accepted as common practice, but around the late 1800s, judges started taking a harsher view of it. In 1895, the Supreme Court even handed down a ruling saying that judges don’t have to inform juries of their right to nullify. Today, most judges take advantage of this. Many will even tell you that you legally can’t nullify a law. There’s some debate over whether that’s true or not. (At any rate, jurors can’t be punished for the verdict they return and not-guilty defendants can’t be retried—so we figure, what the heck.) Either way, most judges don’t want to deal with a juror who might pull the nullification card, so if you bring it up, you’ll likely be eliminated from the jury pool.

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Comments (43)

  1. How timely. I have to report for jury duty on Dec. 11th in Phoenix. And I served last year as well, in Boston.
    And a few years ago in CA. I’m sort of a migratory juror.

    posted by Sheldon Siegel on 12-5-2006 at 1:08 pm

  2. Talk about timely…a coworker of mine calls in every 4 hours or so to say he is still waiting to get called into the courtroom…he’s been there 1.5 days now.
    Too bad he’s not checking email…I’d let him know about nullification.

    posted by Stephen on 12-5-2006 at 1:42 pm

  3. A little bit of “inside information” for you (I am a trial attorney) – the things any decent trial attorney looks for in a potential Juror is intelligence and the ability to pay attention. If you come across as bright, attentive and reasonable — the odds of you getting off of that jury are not looking great. Opinionated, combative and prejuidced – we tend to pass on.

    Now, the catch is that “acting” opinionated, etc is not as easy as it sounds, and an experienced lawyer is going to see right through it (as will a good judge).

    Juries perform an incredibly important function – do you really want to leave it to people who “resign” themselves to serving? If you were a defendant, wrongfully accused of somthing (be it a civil wrong or criminal), would you want a jury full of dullards, simpletons and apathetic lumps or bright, engaged and attentive individuals? The same goes if you are plaintiff who has been wronged. Well, there is a plaintiff and a defendant in the case that you’ll be trying to “get out” of jury duty for — do you want to leave her to those less then capable just to save yourself a few afternoons? Karma is a bitch, and she’ll remember that.

    The next time someone bitches about “travesties” of justice – the O.J. trial, etc – remember that most of those were perpetrated by juries … would you have “gotten it right?” – apparently not, you’d have been too busy trying to find a “slick way” out of serving.

    Food for thought.

    posted by Ed on 12-6-2006 at 10:05 am

  4. Another great way: not being a US citizen. This sounds obvious, but they get the list of possible jurors from the list of adults with driver’s licenses.(or so I’ve been told).. So, my dad, who’s not a US citizen (he’s French) gets out of jury duty quite a bit. He gets called more frequently than anyone else in my family too…

    posted by greenstrawberries on 12-7-2006 at 6:09 am

  5. The reason why most intelligent people want out of jury duty (other than who can afford it?) is that most folks trapped by jury duty are dullards.

    posted by Alice on 1-9-2007 at 7:29 pm

  6. I was called last year and saw some hideous attempts to weasel out of it. One fellow, who should have known better when the judge recognize dhis name and asked how his mothe rwas doing, went on a rant abou this feelings towards police officers – oddly enough, the defendant’s attorney made sur ehe got selected.

    Anothe rfellow wailed about how he would not be able to focus on the trial, worryin gabout his business while he wasn’t working. Sad, really, and I suspect the attorneys and judge were just nmaking him squirm, after a while.

    I figured the easiest way out would have been to say that I would have followed whatever the prevailing vote in the room was, in an effort to speed the trial. Or in my case that I was a friend of one of the arresting officers, or that my father, two uncles, grandfather, two great uncles and cousin are/were local police officers. Never got to me, though. And to be honest, I wouldn’t have tried to duck it – serving on a jury is no great price to pay for living in this country. Plus I had legitimately used a hardship extension six months earlier.

    posted by Scott on 11-20-2007 at 8:36 am

  7. I don’t know how the list is of people called to serve jury is formed but I do know that you don’t have to be a registered voter nor do you need a driver’s license. I know this because my sister who had down-syndrome was called frequently. She couldn’t sign a legal contract yet our justice system wanted her to serve on a jury. I’ve always been at a loss with that one.

    posted by jen on 11-20-2007 at 10:31 am

  8. I’ll admit I’m actually one of the few people who would be interested in serving jury duty… but honest to gosh, I am so ADD that I can’t even make it through the morning at work without fidgeting, multitasking, and getting up about four times.

    posted by Mel on 11-20-2007 at 11:22 am

  9. Jury duty selection is different state to state (and possibly county to county). In some states, they get names from the voter registration lists. However, some states changed to getting their names from driver license lists. People might avoid signing up to vote to avoid jury duty, but most people won’t avoid getting a driver’s license just for that.

    And I’ve been called to jury duty a few times. I’ve gotten lots of reading done while waiting to be called up. And it’s interesting meeting other people in the jury. How often do you get to hang out with such a wide range of random people? The judges are usually pretty cool, too.

    Of course, my mother said if I did want to get out of a jury, I should just insist that I am a firm believer in the death penalty.

    posted by Nat X on 11-20-2007 at 1:15 pm

  10. Want to know why we have such a low voter turnout in this country? It’s because your vote is tied to jury duty. Registered to vote? Guess what–you just registered for jury duty.

    posted by Chris M. on 11-20-2007 at 2:01 pm

  11. I’ve been called for jury duty twice, the first time I was in a jury selection gone awry (it was pretty embarassing to watch all these adults trying to weasel their way out of being selected); out of the large group called in, it got down to the last 5 people before the attorneys had agreed on 12 jurors. I had the very last number on the list, so I was never called, it was a prostitution case and I would have probably nullified it if I’d known I could.

    posted by Tami on 11-20-2007 at 2:30 pm

  12. My dad gets out everytime because he’s a minister. It’s weird, like he can’t be partial?

    I have served on two jurys, once in a 3-day DUI case and once as an aternate for a 3-month long grand jury. I found both experiences very enlightening. As a single young adult, the experiences were fascinating and a break from the daily grind.

    That, however, was in small town Alaska. I worry about being chosen in the state-wide 18 month deal where one weekend a month Alaskans from all over the state are flown into Anchorage. That would get old. And then the federal jur–who knows what hoops people have to jump through to serve in DC! But, I suppose that those could be interesting too. I would NOT enjoy being in on the details of a more violent crime, however.

    posted by Andrea on 11-20-2007 at 5:30 pm

  13. I got called once…and I had to beg my way out of it because we were having essential training at work that couldn’t be repeated. Luckily, the whole thing was settled out of court. This was especially good because one of the other teachers in my same classroom was called for the same jury.

    posted by Becky T. on 11-20-2007 at 9:22 pm

  14. As a reply to Ed; you’re right that it’s an important civic duty to serve jury duty. However the reason people try to get out of it is that it’s currently set up to be extremely user unfriendly. To start off with, the “bright, attentive and reasonable” people you would like to have on your jury probably all have well paying jobs, careers, businesses, and professions. While some employers do provide jury duty pay, it’s usually not the same as one’s regular salary. Career minded types could see their ambitions go down the drain while absent for any long period. Professionals, business owners and the otherwise self-employed may have no income at all during their duty period and may even face the loss of clients, etc.

    How should the courts work to rectify the situation? First off, PAY MORE- taker the burden off of employers to pay for an employee who isn’t producing and take some of the sting away for professionals and the self employed.

    Next, treat people like people- they have lives, families, and other responsibilities outside of the courtroom that still have to be managed- allow them the flexibility to manage!

    Lastly, and perhaps most radically, compulsory jury duty should be deprecated in favor of volunteers. Why is it, you think, that the US Military is so very proud nowadays that it’s an all volunteer force? There’s nobody there who didn’t want to be- though the draft is still held in reserve in case of emergencies. Jury duty should be like that, let the people who WANT to serve on juries sign up and only require compulsory service if that pool isn’t large enough. I suspect if my first two points are also followed, there should be enough volunteers to keep thing rolling.

    So, bottom line on how to get out of jury duty is to *change the system* so that it is less likely that anyone who doesn’t want to be the jury box will be there.

    posted by Eli on 11-24-2007 at 4:17 pm

  15. I have to report tomorrow morning for jury duty. I DO NOT WANT THIS. I have too many issues with the laws, period, and jury nullification should be in full force in this country.

    I will go in, tell them I have absolutely no desire to do jury duty because my brother was just sentenced for a felony and will be going to prison in January. Truth. Then, if they are not sympathetic to that, I will pull the jury nullification card. Absolutely. If that doesn’t work, I will be absolutely insistent that I do NOT agree with current drug laws, sex offender laws and gun laws, just in case any of those issues happen to be on the list of cases that require a jury I may have to be on. If that doesn’t work… well, I suppose I’ll be screwed. As it is, I don’t have a car and can’t figure out the bus system here because I don’t use it. And taking a cab for the 10+ mile and back trip is ridiculous, $40 a day won’t be enough to cover that, and I’m on a limited income.

    as for juries being voluntary… there is a reason why they aren’t. would you want a bunch of hang ‘em happy joes on your jury if you were at trial? um, not me.

    but…. we should have a chance to mark our voter registrations or driver’s license applications with yes or no for “summon me for jury duty”. that would, however, be a form of voluntary jury. i dunno. i just know that i’m NOT going to do this jury duty thing, one way or another. not me.

    posted by Jenn on 12-2-2007 at 11:32 am

  16. posted by dustone on 12-4-2007 at 2:49 am

  17. I got pulled into Jury duty the week of Christmas this year. I responded stating that I had religious obligations over the xmas holiday and couldn’t attend. Unfortunately, that was not good enough to get me out. Can the court system actually deny religious obligations over xmas as an excuse?

    posted by Jason on 12-5-2007 at 5:36 pm

  18. My sister works for a trial lawyer and has described to me his “wishlists” for jurors. Let’s just say it was about the most radical and not PC thing I’ve ever seen. Actually, it cracked me up… but yeah. It was bizarre.

    posted by Sarah on 12-28-2007 at 4:13 pm

  19. Man, jury duty was the single most boring day I have ever spent.

    An easy way to get out of it in Illinois is to move and not register to vote at your new address. It’s like the state never heard of you.

    posted by Moon on 1-29-2008 at 7:33 pm

  20. Jason- Courts close in observance of Christmas. If you have travel arrangements, you can let the court know that during jury selection.

    posted by michelle on 1-30-2008 at 10:18 am

  21. Be seen reading violent obscure magazines like; Guns and Ammo, Catholic Digest and True Crime Murder magazines in the waiting room.

    posted by nickel on 1-30-2008 at 11:44 am

  22. It is ridiculous to assert that jury nullification “began” with the Penn trial in 1670. Jury nullification predates Magna Charta, which was signed in 1215.

    Secondly, why should anyone want out of jury duty? How often do you get to see, up close and personal, how the government uses its enormous power? Or, better yet, have the ability to “just say no” to government excesses?

    posted by csconrad on 3-22-2008 at 10:38 am

  23. I don’t know if this is normal, but I’m on jury duty. I thought I would do my civic duty and now I’m paying for it. Come to find out I am obligated to be on duty for SIX MONTHS!!
    It began as twice a month, where I would have to call in and see if the case had been settled or they would need my services.
    After the first two months in increased to 3 times a month. The third month it was once a week, and the 4th month the same.
    After calling month after stinking month I heard the same phone message,”all cases have been settled, please call back again.”
    I forgot to call one damn time, and a sheriff shows up at my door. Come to find out… that day they needed me. Now I have to see the judge for a possible contempt of court. Which if I remember his redneck warnings he hands out liberally.
    Who ever heard of a six month obligation? I work 45hrs a week and drive over 1600 miles a month to get there. I had a knee surgery, which they didn’t care about, and I have a wedding out of state coming up.
    This is absolutely absurd.

    posted by ArcLight on 5-6-2008 at 7:58 am

  24. I just talked with a coworker who was not selected for a jury. Had he been, it was a murder case that would take up to 6 months. Our company pays for only 4 weeks jury duty — after that, no pay. If you’re the sole breadwinner of the household, this is a major hardship!

    I’m supposed to go in for jury duty in November. I hope that if I do get chosen, it’s a very short case. If I’m lucky, I won’t have to report in.

    posted by red on 10-13-2008 at 7:28 pm

  25. I’m sitting in the Queens County juror holding pen right now, reading all of these responses and waiting to be empaneled.

    Nice to know about nullification, but really, if it’s a short case and I’m chosen, I’ll serve. C’mon, people — go read “12 Angry Men” or “Inherit the Wind” once in a while. Juries should be made up of one’s peers. Wouldn’t you want a reasonable, intelligent jury at your trial? (or maybe you’d want a bunch of dullards, if you were guilty)

    Still, it’s a duty, just like taxes. Many of the freedoms and comforts we take for granted, and that we want to export to the world (sometimes at the end of a rifle), are made possible only by our active and attentive participation in our government. Don’t like how things work? Participate, and help to change them. Shirk your responsibility in any way and *you have no right to complain.*

    Plus, you’ll be a jerk. (although my apologies to the six-month juror — ouch)

    Hey, being involved, just like serving in the military, is patriotic. Sometimes it sucks. Deal with it.

    I’ll post again later if I come out the other end of this process alive. :)

    Cheers,
    Queens Juror #Y30xx

    posted by Y30xx on 11-12-2008 at 11:47 am

  26. I went to JP court jury duty and was chosen (Dec ’08). Summoned again to report yesterday for District Court. Was late–clerk wasn’t terribly happy, but said my name would be coming up for the next “selection” immediately. This after not being even summoned for years. The JP jury experience seemed to be a collosal waste of time and money. Ours was a speeding ticket case, the guy admitted guilt on the stand, and we found him guilty and he was given a $275 fine. In addition to the time spent in court by the state trooper, two assistant county attorneys, etc. There were about 60 citizens not chosen who probably took off work, burned a bunch of gasoline, etc.

    All in all it was an enlightening experience, but still a waste of money for me to be enlightened in that way:-)

    posted by non-Dullard Jr on 1-21-2009 at 10:13 am

  27. What would happen if you told them to get out of duty that you were prejudice and if you can not speak english you do not belong in this country?

    Would that get you out of jury duty?

    posted by Denise on 2-9-2009 at 11:04 am

  28. I’m a RN who has received a summons to serve. So that eliminates what I’ve been reading on a lot of sites indicating that medical professionals, including nurses, don’t get called.

    My disabled adult daughter lives with me. Granted, she’s autistic and highly functional, but she still depends on me for a roof over her head and she can’t work. I also have a teenage daughter who also depends on me to feed and house her.

    I’m divorced and I have no other income than my job.

    My job does NOT pay ANYTHING for jury duty, so if I miss work, I don’t get paid.

    Even after explaining all of these factors to Ms. Lori Schumann of Jury Management in Milwaukee County, I was told that’s not good enough to be excused from jury duty.

    I hope they’re happy. I work third shift so if I end up having to serve, I’ll be late everyday, (have to drive from work to the courthouse), I’ll be in my uniform and I’ll probably be sleeping in the jury box.

    How can it be legal to tell someone they HAVE to risk finanacial hardship for themselves and their families to serve on a jury? I don’t get it. I’d be happy to serve if I didn’t lose pay, but that’s impossible. How can I be fair knowing that being there will screw up my finances?

    BTW, Milwaukee county pays a whopping $19/day for serving. Yeah, that’ll pay my mortgage.

    posted by RN on 2-21-2009 at 7:34 am

  29. a prospect was asked if he or anyone close to him did a serious crime or was accused of doing a serious crime.he said his sister was accused od taking a car.he was tossed from jd

    posted by billy button on 3-24-2009 at 10:55 am

  30. a colleague was asked any reason why he couldnt be an impartial juror.he said “i would hang him”.he was tossed

    posted by button on 3-24-2009 at 10:58 am

  31. a “friend’didnt answer city census for years and wasnt bothered by jd notices

    posted by button on 3-24-2009 at 11:01 am

  32. a poster called for jd said “i can tell if they are guilty just by looking at them”.he was tossed from jd twice

    posted by button on 3-24-2009 at 11:04 am

  33. I was wondering if anyone has ever sent someone in their place to serve under their name, without telling the court that they are not the real person who was called. I mean someone goes in and signs in under your name. They don’t check I.D.
    I once went for jury selection where I knew the judge personaly and one other prospective jurors. But even in this case they might just have thought the name was familiar if another face had filled in for me.
    I don’t think I will try this, too risky.

    posted by Big Phil on 4-24-2009 at 12:07 pm

  34. Me again….I showed for jury duty and after sitting around for 2.5 hours my group was excused.
    While I was waiting I was talking to a woman who said that she had recently gotten out of serving by answering, in questioning, that she found the defendant to be a handsome man and she did not feel that she could be impartial. They excused her.

    posted by Big Phil on 5-11-2009 at 1:19 pm

  35. Well I’m off to JD tomorrow. Big Phil that lady came up with a brilliant answer. I just hope that if I do get selected that it will be a very short trial. I think the best thing to do it just seem bias, and very one-sided. If you think someone is guilty, repeat it several times. Don’t come off as open-minded.

    posted by Big Dave on 8-26-2009 at 7:04 pm

  36. OR….

    You could show up wearing a Dead Kennedy’s (yes, the punk band) t-shirt. That’s all it took for me. Considering that the only question I was asked by the prosecutor was “what exactly does your shirt mean?”, I think it is safe to assume that my shirt was the sole reason for my dismissal. Try it!

    posted by Justin on 8-29-2009 at 6:12 pm

  37. I have JD tomorrow, and I love the Dead Kennedy’s t-shirt comment, I too am a huge 80′s punk rock fan. I have an M.D.C. t-shirt (stands for Millions of Dead Cops)I was thinking about wearing. And no, I am not a cop hater or a criminal, I didn’t name the band, I just listened to them as a kid. My wife thought wearing that shirt would get me beat up just about anywhere, so I think I am going with the NOFX t-shirt that shows George Bush painted up like a clown. That should get me off scott free. That t-shirt I stand behind 100%!

    posted by Chris Mak on 9-16-2009 at 6:41 pm

  38. I was told that you can be more subtle, and still get excused. They do pay attention to how you act when you are in the waiting area. For example, if you show up on time and are dressed in your Sunday best, then they may think, what is with this person, are they angling to get on the jury?

    Some things that I have seen others try that did not work: 1) taking medication and using an inhaler for asthma while waiting to be interviewed (they figure that if you were incapacitated, you would have submitted a doctor’s excuse); 2) leaving to go smoke a cig every few minutes (they figure you will learn to sit tight once you are in the jury box); and 3) looking like you are going to cry whenever you think about how your business is going to go to hell if you sit on a jury too long (your tough luck as far as they are concerned). Basically, they don’t care if it is a hardship.

    The other things that can help is if you or your wife have ever worked as a paralegal, or if one of you have an uncle somewhere who is or was a cop.

    posted by UnTel on 11-22-2009 at 7:02 pm

  39. i was called for jury duty in sydney australia.i told thesupreme court judge ido not believe in jury duty.torture the suspect make him confess then we do not need jury duty .he said you got novel views.you are excused bracar

    posted by per bratlie on 1-11-2010 at 2:21 am

  40. testing

    posted by benny on 6-11-2010 at 3:39 pm

  41. Just finished jury duty for grande jury selection, judge said he heard every excuse there is and said it was futile, my county require you as a grande juror to report for 2 years evey other thursday rain or shine,they wanted us to bring emplorer jury service policies with you , 150 people showed and they picked us off randomly, warning! do not sit in the back of the court room.

    posted by benny on 6-11-2010 at 3:44 pm

  42. what if i dont show up for jd, received a summons a few months ago and i didnt respond, now i received a card saying that i should call to explain why i didnt anwer the summons? what should i do and cant go

    posted by trent on 7-23-2010 at 10:59 pm

  43. My sister wore an “I love Jury Nullification” t-shirt to jury duty in NYC. She discussed constitutional law in the judge’s chambers for 2 hrs and was dismissed, along with the 20+ other prospective jurors on the trial.

    posted by Sibling on 10-12-2010 at 10:19 pm

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