Is financial hardship a legitimate reason to get out of jury duty?

[scfr]

If the financial hardship doesn't work, another legitimate way that you can try to get out is to tell the judge that you're familiar with jury nullification which will often get you excused.

Very funny, Jeffrey. When I was called I had a friend suggest that I answer every question with "hang 'em high!"

But seriously, I have been called 4 times, went 3 of 4 times, and was seated on a jury once. The judge let us know in advance about how long the case would last. Since it was just a few days, I did not try to get out of it. Had it been a long trial I would have pleaded financial hardship for my company because I was working in a very small office and it would not have been fair to ask my co-workers to pick up the slack for more than a day or two. The first 2 times I was fortunate to work for a company that paid me while on jury duty (minus the jury duty stipend). This was a foreign-owned company that was acutely aware of being "guests" in America and wanting to be good corporate citizens. The 3rd time I was the owner/operator of a small business and had clients relying on me and so I had to send in a letter begging out. The 4th time I was allowed to request dates that would work for me from a pool of possible dates, and so I picked dates between work assignments and went even though the stipend didn't even cover my gas. It's the way our system works and I view it as a civic duty like voting.

[disneysteve]

I view it as a civic duty like voting.

Voting doesn't cost me a penny. It doesn't require me to miss work. In fact, for the past several years, we've voted by mail so it hasn't even required leaving the house. You can't really compare that to jury duty which could cost me thousands of dollars if I got picked for a jury (and hundreds even if I didn't get picked).

[scfr]

Voting doesn't cost me a penny. It doesn't require me to miss work. In fact, for the past several years, we've voted by mail so it hasn't even required leaving the house. You can't really compare that to jury duty which could cost me thousands of dollars if I got picked for a jury (and hundreds even if I didn't get picked).

Good point - Perhaps it would have been more accurate to say that it's a civic duty like voting or paying taxes. Can the case be made that our jury system is less than perfect? Absolutely. Can the case be made that there are flaws in our tax codes? Heck yes.

[WISEWOMAN]

I do not believe in a "jury of peers". Jurors should be educated professionals paid to perform service.

Our state does not recognize financial hardship. As a matter of fact, it's hard to get released after one day. If I received paid leave I might feel differently, but I'm like most who don't get paid. I would never want someone on a jury who was distracted/stressed about the financial implications/hardships weighing heavy on their minds. Do you think they are going to make a sound decision? I think not.