What Are Valid Excuses for Jury Duty?

The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides for the right to a speedy public trial by an impartial jury of a defendant’s peers. But quickly finding an impartial jury is a task that has bedeviled the judicial system for years.

In 2014, Atlanta-area attorneys summoned 600 potential jurors in a notorious school district cheating scandal in which teachers corrected students' answers on standardized tests to improve the schools reported performance.

It took six weeks just to finish selecting a jury out of the 600 prospective jurors. The eight-month criminal trial was the longest in Georgia history at the time, and the school superintendent at the center of the scandal died before the legal proceedings were over.

The jury in that case had to serve nine months, earning the gratitude of the judge, who later stated, “They were diligent. They worked hard, they got along. They never were late. It was really amazing.”

In the early years of jury trials, juries were often chosen from a small group of white men who personally knew both the plaintiffs and the defendants. Juries could also be sequestered without food or drink, which virtually guaranteed a speedy resolution.

The term “jury of your peers” isn’t even included in the Constitution; it comes from the Magna Carta, the English legal charter written in 1215 that limited the power of the monarchy. The requirements for serving on a jury vary from one jurisdiction to another, and there are distinct rules for federal, state and local criminal and civil trials. To qualify as a juror in a federal case, for example, one must be 18 or older, a U.S. citizen and be able to read, write and speak English, among other requirements.

Some people are exempt from federal juries, including convicted felons, active-duty members of the armed forces or national guard, full-time members of professional police and fire departments and “public officers” who are full-time officials of federal, state or local governments. U.S. district courts can also permanently excuse people who would endure “undue hardship or extreme inconvenience” through jury duty or those who are members of certain demographic groups, e.g., people who are over the age of 70, non-professional volunteer firefighters and other first responders.

For most state courts, potential jurors can be excused for valid reasons such as suffering severe financial hardship as a result of jury duty or being a medical caregiver, the sole caretaker of a young child or a full-time student. Most courts require some proof that these excuses apply to the prospective juror, such as a valid student ID with full-time course schedule.

Medical excuses—for either physical or mental impairment—can also be used to get out of jury duty. In New York State courts, for example, potential jurors must present a “signed statement from a licensed physician that indicates your condition and how long it is expected the condition will exist.”

In Texas, a person can be excused if their jury duty will coincide with their observance of a religious holiday. In Colorado, New Jersey and some other states, one can be excused if they are breastfeeding a child once they provide a medical statement to that effect.

Virtually every attorney or judge who has been involved in jury selection has heard excuses for getting out of jury duty that range from the ridiculous to the sublime. Claiming to be from another planet or other paranormal excuses, for example, is a popular gambit. One woman—the wife of a police officer—claimed she couldn’t be objective when hearing testimony from police officers: “I wouldn’t believe one word they said, because they are all drunks and jerks. I have seen them all at my house.” (She was quickly dismissed from jury duty.) Another woman said jury duty would interfere with an upcoming surgery. When asked if she would like to discuss it in private with the defense lawyer and judge, she replied, per The New York Post, “No, it’s just a boob job.”

One man claimed he had no one to walk his dog. When asked how often he had to walk his dog, he replied, “I don’t walk my dog. He goes through the back door by himself into the back yard.” A prospective New York juror was once asked by a lawyer if she had any previous experience with lawyers. “You picked me up at a bar five years ago” was all she needed to say to get excused from jury duty.