Numerous Jury Duty notices....

[nancyjerry]

I got a jury notice late when my mail arrived. Emailed them I was traveling for the winter in state and just got my mail.
Got another 6 was later and same thing...
Another one forFeb 11 which I got on the 13.
Emailed I was not going to be in the area for awhile could I be excused.
Nope, I have to show up for 1 and tell the judge why I can't serve..

How do you handle this type of notice? I am 8 hrs away from jury location.

[toedtoes]

jorbill2or wrote:
Really? Since this is in the full timing forum, I think the problem isn’t because you just don’t want to be bothered , it’s becaise you don’t LIVE there really and are rarely if ever there! Driving or flying back 3000 miles for jury duty is more than a inconvenience! If you have a S&B and spend some months there then do your duty or tell them when you are there. Simple , but if your never there and are 3000 miles away how to handle it. As I posted I was honest that I only domiciled and didn’t live there and was excused YMMV

It's not about doing jury duty. It's about throwing away the notice. If you aren't there, then let the court know. By throwing it away, you are simply saying "I can't be bothered to deal with my civic responsibility". By contacting the court, you are saying "I am unable to fulfill my civic responsibility at this time".

Letting the court know can also prevent a lot of wasted time and money sending additional notices, etc.

[retispcsi]

I have received jury notices for both state and federal courts. Explained the problem to the agency that sent the notices. Usually the clerk of the court and have always been excused. The folks in Okaloosa Co. are use to dealing with full timers. Only advice is don't wait till last minute.

[jorbill2or]

Really? Since this is in the full timing forum, I think the problem isn’t because you just don’t want to be bothered , it’s becaise you don’t LIVE there really and are rarely if ever there! Driving or flying back 3000 miles for jury duty is more than a inconvenience! If you have a S&B and spend some months there then do your duty or tell them when you are there. Simple , but if your never there and are 3000 miles away how to handle it. As I posted I was honest that I only domiciled and didn’t live there and was excused YMMV

[toedtoes]

timmac wrote:
Well that neighbor must have done something wrong than, When I get my summons I just throw it away and have never had a issue.

That's great. Just throw it away. Jury duty is a waste of time. Who cares about those poor saps depending on that trial for justice.

[timmac]

Dutch_12078 wrote:

2oldman wrote:
I'd ignore it and let them come arrest you. No, they don't do that.

Don't bet on it. A few years ago, I watched a neighbor get put in handcuffs for a free ride in a police car for failing to appear for jury duty. A jury duty summons is no different than any other summons. Some states are more tolerant of no shows than others, but it can catch up to you. My neighbor was back home that evening after posting a $500 cash bond, and 6 months later received a 30 day suspended sentence and a $250 fine following a misdemeanor conviction.

Currently, the NY State unified jury system provides a simple to use online setup that lets you postpone jury duty with the choice of which upcoming session you expect to be available for. I used it last year for a county grand jury duty summons. When I finally appeared months later, I was released within an hour due to more people showing up than expected. I just smiled and signed for the $40 jury pay for the day and went home... 😉

Well that neighbor must have done something wrong than, When I get my summons I just throw it away and have never had a issue, what is important is Not to respond to the summons, once you do they know you received the notice in mail.


You cant be charge for a regular sent mail, it has to be certified so they know you got it, if its sent regular mail there is no proof they know you got it and you can not be charged without proof you got the letter..

In Nevada its sent by regular mail.

[doxiemom11]

We also received a jury duty notice our 1st year as a full-timer. We were domiciled in SD. We just called the county clerk who's # was listed on the form and we were excused.

[CFerguson]

As said, every county and every judge has a different approach. Some judges get really angry if you dodge, some don't really care. The best thing you can do is contact your local court that handles the notices and explain your situation, then choose your options. I see no reason why a person couldn't do it even before they go fulltime. Most folks I have dealt with are understanding and will work with you if you are polite.

That said, if you are fulltiming, they are going to have a REAL hard time finding you to serve the arrest warrant, aren't they? Especially if you are several states away and don't spend much time in their state, not to mention in their county.


Also, remember that there are Federal Grand Juries as well. I was called to serve on one of those one night but was moving out of that jurisdiction in 2 days. The sheriff clearly didn't believe me, but I asked him to take a look in my empty house where I was finishing up at work while sleeping on a foam pad in my empty house. He showed me a number on the subpoena to call the next day. I did, explained my situation, and they were great with it. I asked if I could just get assigned to duty in my new address, but they chuckled and said no. I was sad- wanted to hang some bad guys.

[nancyjerry]

Ok thank you all. I have enough to go on.

[DownTheAvenue]

I can offer you some advice as an attorney. State laws vary and often individual district courts will have their own rules. Having said that, emailing is the least desirable form of communication. If you get a response at all, it will probably be from a low level employee who does not have the authority to do anything.

Here is how you should handle this:
1. Ascertain from whom the summons is from. It may be from a court clerk, senior judge, or perhaps a court administrator. CALL that person and explain your situation and ask to be called again when you are in town, not ask to be excused. If you get continued during that call, get that person's name and address and write a letter of confirmation. If this doesn't work:
2. Determine what court you have been summoned for jury duty. Somewhere on the summons it will say. CALL the senior judge's office for that court and explain your situation, again for a continuance not an excuse, to the judge's clerk or the judge if you can reach him or her. If you get continued, write a letter of confirmation. If this doesn't work:
3. Appear at the specified time and place with proof of your temporary residence (campground receipts) and proof of your very recent travel (gasoline receipts) to appear. Ask for a continuance in person.

[1968mooney]

Call the county and tell them you were professionally advised by posters on RV.NET and you chose to ignore the summons. Should solve the problem for the near future. :S

[Tvov]

It has been decades since I got a jury summons (after getting 3 in a row, once every 3 years), but I am surprised at how soon that some of you have to show up after getting notice.

In Connecticut, we have 3 or more months notice. Plenty of time to make arrangements and/or postpone the duty. You can postpone duty once for up to a year (might be 6 months) with no explanation. After that you need an "approved" excuse or need to go in person to be excused.

I don't know if Connecticut still does it, but when I went in each potential juror was interviewed in court individually, with the judge, both lawyers, defendant sometimes, and others in the room. An extremely tedious and drawn out process. I don't know how Connecticut actually fills juries in any kind of a timely fashion doing it that way.

I never actually served on a jury... got dismissed due to a family issue, dismissed due to some lawyer not liking my opinion on something, 3rd time was dismissed due to not being needed. I do think jury duty is an important service.

2 of my sisters served on juries over the years, one on a state "grand jury", one on a major murder case in Boston. They both thought it was fascinating.

[NoVa_RT]

As others have mentioned, the procedure varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. However, it may have been a mistake to not call the court, especially if the jury notice provided a contact number. Some places don't particularly care for any "I'm too busy" responses, but are much more accepting of those who say they are away now but can report within a reasonable time. If the OP's e-mails didn't provide a time he would be available, or any justification for his being elsewhere in the state, it's not too surprising that there's some official pushback. I'd call NOW, and be upfront about being willing to report for jury duty at a date certain not too distant. BTW, the suggestion to just ignore the notice is very bad advice.

[BarbaraOK]

One of the reasons that we use Escapees for our home base is that the people in Polk County, Texas, know all about fulltimers and understand that we will often be out of the area. All we do is call, tell them we are Escapees and are excused. They do ask that when in the area would we please call and volunteer, which we have done. Also, now that we are over 70, we are excused because of age.

[old_guy]

I live in Oregon and if you are over 70 they excuse you from duty