I have researched various web sites about avoiding jury duty and many said that judges can be jerks when it comes to dismissing jurors even when they have a valid excuse such as loss of income of health reasons. Most sites said the best way to avoid it is to simply throw away your summons because although there is a stern warning about fines, they cannot be enforced because they can't prove you got the letter. Has anyone tried this successfully?

CaptainForest

They will then send you a certified letter so then you will end up going eventually.

And the reason you don't want to go to jury duty is for financial reasons or health reasons I take it?

They do give exemptions. You could try that way.

dave5150

I heard you can dodge certified letters by either getting a family member to sign for you or by making your signature illegible.

CaptainForest

True.

But why go down that road?

If you are caught, you will get huge fines and perhaps even prison time depending on where you live.

And they will keep coming at you until they get you. So unless you are planning on dying sometime soon, they will catch up with you eventually. Why not just get it over with?

mr.yet

Go for jury, when ask question, state that you will determine the common law and statute in the case yourself, and not by the instructions of the judge, they will dismiss you from jury duty.

CaptainForest

Or say that you were once wrongfully accused by the police and you know all to well that the police make many, many, many mistakes and they probably made another mistake here.

klmgb

Well, once when I was out to sea I got called for jury duty. I got a letter, wife ignored it, got another letter, wife ignored it, Got a third letter saying I was in contempt of court and would be arrested, wife forwarded that one to me. When I got home I had to have the JAG Corps write up a nice explanation. Got me out of that, but I got another letter saying I'm scheduled for June-July time frame now. Point being, I never got a certified letter that anyone had to sign. Went from regular letter in the mail to regular letter in the mail saying I was in contempt. Personally always felt it was my duty to go. Now if you have legitimate medical/financial reason they should excuse you. Also, if its work you can't afford to miss a lot of companies will give you paid time off for jury duty, might look into that. On the positive side maybe you'll get a high profile case, write a book with a ghost writer and become rich. It happens

Fr_Chuck

Legal service is differnt in various states, if you are living at a specific address and another family member signs for it, that will be accepted as legal service in many areas ( unless you latter prove you were not living at that address during that time period)

If you sign poorly ( I do every day) you are basicly lying and that is fraud. Beyond that you also now adays on all my registered letters print you name also. so you are signing a printed name, don't not matter if you can't read the signuture,

Yes you could act like you did not get the orginal notice, but normally they will send one out certified.

Best bet is to be the juror no one wants, if you are a bible carrying anit death penalty pro life, odds are one side won't want you.

For criminal cases, you have heard something in the news that will effect your opinion and so on.

Try being an ex police officer who is a priest, I could not get picked for a animal control case

sideoutshu

What is so special about you that you get to avoid jury duty while everyone else has to go?

sideoutshu

That doesn't usually work, because they just keep throwing jurors back into the pool. (depending on where you live) If I bounce a juror from my panel while I am selecting, that juror doesn't get to go home, they go and wait to be assigned to another panel.