It’s mainly because of my job, I think. I’m a lawyer and a lot of lawyers (including myself) aren’t too keen on picking lawyer jurors. For understandable reasons imo.
If you’re being asked screening questions, answer “Yes, daddy/mommy” or “No, daddy/mommy.” Otherwise pooping your pants might work.
Jokes aside, I don’t really want to recommend ways to avoid it. I’m sure others will lol, but I do think jury duty is something people ideally shouldn’t avoid.
I did get summoned three years ago and I think they disqualified me because I asked if we were going to be able to see the alleged perpetrator’s previous record of similar incidents lol
I know it's a trope to get out of jury duty, but assuming you can afford to do so (I know the economics don't always align), I suggest going through with the experience. It's about the only thing left a citizen can do to effect the outcome of the law. You ever see a traffic stop that enrages you on here? The chances of you sitting on a jury of something egregious is pretty low, but you never know and you may save someone's life (both by handing down a proper sentence to a properly guilty person or keeping an innocent person out of jail).
This. We Americans should not be complaining about what our juries do if we are not willing to serve in one when asked. In some countries your people have to serve in the military when they turn 18.
We Americans don’t have that requirement so a short jury trial is something we should do when asked if it does not create a problem financially.
I watched a woman hem and haw and do everything she could to get dismissed and it disgusted me.
I worked with another woman who said her mother told her not to register to vote because then she wouldn't be called for jury duty.
No wonder this country has gone to shit.
The problem is that you don't really get paid. All the time you could be spending at home, or making money, you're spending at the court-house. And if the case is high profile enough they might even be sequestered, and they aren't allowed to discuss the case at all outside of that room.
You still get to go home. Unless you live hours away (which could be a valid reason to dismiss you) you’ll be able to leave to tend to your home every night.
Well in that case you kinda just have to hope they sympathize with you or think it’ll distract you too much. Otherwise they’d probably just tell you to give them a large breakfast or find someone to house sit.
If you're registered to vote, you can be summoned for jury duty. Honestly, nobody at the courthouse is trying to jam anybody up over jury duty. When you get the summons, there's instructions for what to do if there's a conflict. I've done jury duty twice. The only way you're going to piss anybody off is just 1) not showing up 2) not following instructions and showing up the day of with an excuse that you can't be there because your pets need fed 3 times a day. Then they might waste your time just for funsies. My wife got a jury summons 8-10 years ago. She had a medical thing she didn't want to reschedule, she followed the directions and she got a letter saying her duty would be postponed for 1 year, just saying expect to be summoned again since you go to the front of the line. She's never been called again.
I'm Australian, so I get paid regardless and would be quite interested to be on a Jury, I'm almost 40 and have never been called on, I know one colleague who was called on but not selected.
They'll ask you if you have any biases they should know before you're actually picked. Make something up that makes them not want you.
Throw out a "I think police are liars and more likely to manufacturer evidence than put effort into actually solving a crime" and you won't be on the jury.
This happens! My cousin was sexually assaulted as a child. It was was a case about this same thing. He told them he had a bias. They asked him to share his story, he reluctantly did, and they picked him.
Literally just tell the room you don't recognize the authority of the court and will engage in jury nullification if your moral code objects to the charges despite evidence and you'll be out within 5 minutes.
Both sides get a chance to judge the jurors and have say on who gets in our not. One side likely saw your cousin as favorable for them and the other didn’t object so they were allowed
Maybe you could tell them that you don't trust the police or the legitimacy of any evidence they bring forward. The prosecutor wouldn't want someone like that on a jury.
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u/Reesewithoutaspoon2 Jul 16 '26
I’d like to be on a jury, but I never get picked when I’m called for jury duty :(