Getting out of Jury Duty ?

muppetkiller

Hi all,
Sorry if this is the wrong Forum but a friend of mine has been requested for Jury Duty ...How can he get out of it ?
Cheers,
Dave

haz

muppetkiller wrote:

a friend of mine has been requested for Jury Duty ...How can he get out of it?

It is a civic duty excused pretty much only by a physical bar to attendance. Jury selection might be swayed by your profound knowledge of the defendant's guilt, your expertise in forensics or your history of psychiatric detention. Wear a really smart suit and carry a briefcase full of evidence of all three (a cartoon of the guilty party surrounded by an explanation of how the presence of damning microscopic fibers was transmitted to you through your dental fillings, in green ink). Worked for me anyroad....

cee_jay

Why does he want to get out of it?
As haz said it is your civic duty
Anyway he may not be picked for the jury

Think there was a thread about this a week or two or go.....

DublinWriter

muppetkiller wrote:

Hi all,
Sorry if this is the wrong Forum but a friend of mine has been requested for Jury Duty ...How can he get out of it ?

Piece of cake - he should come in on the first day of the trial dressed in a Starfleet uniform.

Jo King

I have seen people get out of it including myself by wearing a suit on day one. The defence lawyers will challenge any well dressed person particularly if they have an occupation and address of a conservative type. Potential jurors are asked if there is any reason why they should not serve.
One person avoided it by saying I I I I have have have a a a speech imp imp impediment. Another stated that she was a full time student and was excused without further ado.

jhegarty

"Getting out of jury duty is easy. The trick is to say you're prejudiced against all races.".

- Homer Simpson

Wishbone Ash

Jo King wrote:

The defence lawyers will challenge any well dressed person particularly if they have an occupation and address of a conservative type

Unless, of course, they want a conservative type on the jury.


OP - Most Lordships will automatically excuse any potential juror who claims he/she has a problem with incontinence.

" ....... NEXT!"

But that means attending on the day requested. Presumably your friend doesn't wish to get that far!

Our man in Havana

How would the defence lawyers know the addresses and occupations of the jurors? Shurely they don't get a list of names and addresses?

information

muppetkiller wrote:

How can he get out of it ?

I have gotten out of jury duty by saying I am self employed and need to work.

Jo King

Bond-007 wrote:

How would the defence lawyers know the addresses and occupations of the jurors? Shurely they don't get a list of names and addresses?

Yes the do indeed get a list of names and addresses as well as the occupation of the potential jurors and no defence lawyers never want conservative types on a jury. The prosecution will have even more information on potential jurors.

kaisersose77

anyone know any good ways to get out of this? after getting a letter in the post today to go on jury duty next month in a town at least an hour away and i dont drive ( and there wouldnt even be buses that morning to get to that town in time for the jury duty ).

hullaballoo

Beyond all the suggestions above? Em, you could try doing your civic duty like the rest of us, or else you could just pay the small fine and cut your losses if you really don't want to do it though.

morbo

The simplest way to do it would be to show up in a full Nazi SS Ubergroupenfurher uniform, red armband and all!

But you should do it. You could say you were not resident in the area, if you are a student or something?

A jury is generally made up of twelve people that were too stupid to get out of doing it.

johnnyskeleton

every citizen aged eighteen years or upwards and under the age of seventy years who is entered in a register of Dáil electors in a jury district shall be qualified and liable to serve as a juror

some people are ineligible:
The President
Persons concerned with administration of justice
Any judge, past present or future
Coroners, deputy coroners and temporary coroners
The Attorney General and members of his staff.
The Director of Public Prosecutions and members of his staff.
Barristers and solicitors actually practising as such.

Solicitors' apprentices, solicitors' clerks and other persons employed on work of a legal character in solicitors' offices.

Officers attached to a court or to the President of the High Court and officers and other persons employed in any office attached to a court or attached to the President of the High Court.

Persons employed from time to time in any court for the purpose of taking a record of the proceedings of the court.

Members of the Garda Síochána.

Prison officers and other persons employed in any prison, Saint Patrick's Institution or any place provided under section 2 of the Prisons Act 1970 (No. 11) or in any place in which persons are kept in military custody pursuant to section 2 of the Prisons Act 1972 (No. 7) or in any place specified to be used as a prison under section 3 of the latter Act, chaplains and medical officers of, and members of visiting committees for, any such establishment or place.

Persons employed in the welfare service of the Department of Justice.
A person in charge of, or employed in, a forensic science laboratory.
Members of the Defence Forces
Every member of the Permanent Defence Force, including the Army Nursing Service.

Every member of the Reserve Defence Force during any period during which he is in receipt of pay for any service or duty as a member of the Reserve Defence Force.

some people are incapable:
A person who because of insufficient capacity to read, deafness or other permanent infirmity is unfit to serve on a jury.

A person who suffers or has suffered from mental illness or mental disability and on account of that condition either—
( a ) is resident in a hospital or other similar institution, or
( b ) regularly attends for treatment by a medical practitioner.

other people can be excused as of right:
Members of either House of the Oireachtas.
Members of the Council of State.
The Comptroller and Auditor General.
The Clerk of Dáil Éireann.
The Clerk of Seanad Éireann.
A person in Holy Orders.
A regular minister of any religious denomination or community.
Vowed members of any religious order living in a monastery, convent or other religious community.

The following persons if actually practising their profession and registered (including provisionally or temporarily registered), enrolled or certified under the statutory provisions relating to that profession
(a)Medical practitioners:
(b)Dentists;
(c)Nurses;
(d)Midwives;
(e)Veterinary surgeons;
(f)Pharmaceutical chemists.

A member of the staff of either House of the Oireachtas on a certificate from the Clerk of that House that it would be contrary to the public interest for the member to have to serve as a juror because he performs essential and urgent services of public importance that cannot reasonably be performed by another or postponed.

Heads of Government Departments and Offices and any civil servant on a certificate from the head of his Department or Office that it would be contrary to the public interest for the civil servant to have to serve as a juror because he performs essential and urgent services of public importance that cannot reasonably be performed by another or postponed.

Any civilian employed by the Minister for Defence under section 30 (1) (g) of the Defence Act 1954 (No. 18) on a certificate from the Secretary of the Department of Defence that it would be contrary to the public interest for the civilian to have to serve as a juror because he performs essential and urgent services of public importance that cannot reasonably be performed by another or postponed.

Chief officers of local authorities for the purposes of the Local Government Act 1941 (No. 23), health boards established under the Health Act 1970 (No. 1) and harbour authorities within the meaning of the Harbours Act 1946 (No. 9) and any employee of a local authority, health board or harbour authority on a certificate from its chief officer that it would be contrary to the public interest for the employee to have to serve as a juror because he performs essential and urgent services of public importance that cannot reasonably be performed by another or postponed.

The head or principal teacher of the college of a university, of a school or other educational institution, and any professor, lecturer or member of the teaching staff of any such institution on a certificate from such head or principal teacher that the person concerned performs services in the institution that cannot reasonably be performed by another or postponed.

Whole-time students at any such educational institution as is mentioned in the preceding paragraph.

The secretary to the Commissioners of Irish Lights and any person in the employment of the Commissioners on a certificate from the secretary that the person concerned performs services for the Commissioners that cannot reasonably be performed by another or postponed.

Masters of vessels duly licensed pilots and duly licensed aircraft commanders.

Persons aged sixty-five years or upwards and under the age of seventy years.

Some people are disqualified:
if on conviction of an offence in any part of Ireland—
( a ) he has at any time been sentenced to imprisonment or penal servitude for life or for a term of five years or more or to detention under section 103 of the Children Act, 1908, or under the corresponding law of Northern Ireland, or
( b ) he has at any time in the last ten years—
(i) served any part of a sentence of imprisonment or penal servitude, being, in the case of imprisonment, a sentence for a term of at least three months, or
(ii) served any part of a sentence of detention in Saint Patrick's Institution or in a corresponding institution in Northern Ireland, being a sentence for a term of at least three months.

Fomer Jurors
Former jurors are usually given a "get out of jury duty card" by a judge if they have served on a trial, and can use this if they want to.

Some Jobs
Generally, if you are self employed or are indispensible to your employer (seriously indispensible like a master typesetter, not just the guy rostered for that day) a judge can excuse you.

Personal Difficulty
In addition, if there are personal issues - serious illness, birth of child, prebooked wedding planned, holidays booked, bereavement, etc - and you can back this up with documentation you will probably be excused (but it is not certain so try to communicate with the court in advance that you will not be present)

Specific trial
In relation to a specific trial, you may be excused if you know any of the witnesses & gardai, lawyers, judges, areas of the offence or area where the offender/victim is from, sometimes if you have been the victim of a similar offence (e.g. telemarketing scam of a similar nature), or if you will not be available for the full duration of the trial.

I would imagine that you do turn up, but tell the judge that you don't feel confident that you can carry out your duties due to emotional frailty or some other reason they might excuse you. Again, as the other posters have stated, if you demonstrate that you are a racist/nut-job you might be excused, and if you look ultra conservative or if you look like you might be a criminal yourself, either the defence or prosecution solicitors will probably ask that you not serve.

Bear in mind that if you are not selected for a specific trial, you will not be excused from the full duty, just from serving on that particular jury.

All that said, why not do jury service? It's a civic duty, it's fun, you get paid (by your employer), nice hours (11-4.30 except last day), you get free lunch, you might get a free hotel room (reasonably decent), you get to see what happens in the courts, the judges are usually very nice to juries which makes a change to most bosses, and most importantly, you get to help either put a guilty man in jail, or keep an innocent man out.

If you can't drive there or get a bus, then you might be excused. Contact the county registrar.

homah_7ft

It's amazing they get anyone with all those exclusions.

dermot_sheehan

You can show up and get off with pretty much any old excuse.
You could not show up and pay the €63 fine http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/ZZA4Y1976S34.html

But remember jury service is a fundamental civic duty. With the absence of conscription or mandatory voting it is pretty much the only obligation of citizenship we have. If one day you are either a victim of a crime or accused of a crime and have to have the issue determined by a jury, remember that the system only works because people decide to serve.

Also remember that failure to serve on a jury bars you from life from ever criticising the OJ verdict.

johnnyskeleton

homah_7ft wrote:

It's amazing they get anyone with all those exclusions.

Well, some are categories of just one person e.g. the president.

I'd love to do jury duty, and I'm sure there are lots of other people who would too. In fact, I'm fairly certain there are because people always turn up.

morbo

johnnyskeleton wrote:

some people are ineligible:
The President
Persons concerned with administration of justice
Any judge, past present or future
Coroners, deputy coroners and temporary coroners
The Attorney General and members of his staff.
The Director of Public Prosecutions and members of his staff.
Barristers and solicitors actually practising as such.

Any judges, past, present, or future? Just go into the court and say you wish to become a judge someday, and therefore, you couldn't possibly be expected to sit on a jury!

Honestly though? Am I the only one that picked up on that? I hope to God I never need any of you guys to draft a contract, or a Will for me! :rolleyes:

Beelzebub

muppetkiller wrote:

Hi all,
Sorry if this is the wrong Forum but a friend of mine has been requested for Jury Duty ...How can he get out of it ?
Cheers,
Dave

If he/she is a student with exams coming up, get a letter from the dean/principal/tutor to that effect.

I was called when I had pending exams and was excused on that basis.

I was called 5 years later approx when in full employment and wasn't picked for the jury.

I didn't shave that morning, wonder if that helped!;)

johnnyskeleton

morbo wrote:

Any judges, past, present, or future? Just go into the court and say you wish to become a judge someday, and therefore, you couldn't possibly be expected to sit on a jury!

Honestly though? Am I the only one that picked up on that? I hope to God I never need any of you guys to draft a contract, or a Will for me! :rolleyes:

If you have been accepted for judicial office, but have not taken up the position yet, and at the same time have ceased practise as a barrister or solicitor, then I understand that you are ineligible for jury service.

This is based on Part I of the First Schedule of the Juries Act, 1976 (Persons ineligible) which states:

"Persons holding or who have at any time held any judicial office within the meaning of the Courts (Establishment and Constitution) Act 1961 (No. 38)"

and a person appointed to a judicial office comes within s. 6(7):

"Where a vacancy occurs in a judicial office, a person may be appointed to fill the vacancy."

As far as I know, a newly appointed judge spends some time learning the ropes before he takes office.

Therefore, I think a judicial appointee is ineligible for jury service. Hence future judge.

morbo

You pretty much have to be a practicing barrister (or a solicitor under the new rules) to make it to the bench. So, as barristers are also exempt, wouldn't "Judges, past and present" suffice?

johnnyskeleton

johnnyskeleton wrote:

If you have been accepted for judicial office, but have not taken up the position yet, and at the same time have ceased practise as a barrister or solicitor, then I understand that you are ineligible for jury service.

...

As far as I know, a newly appointed judge spends some time learning the ropes before he takes office.

Therefore, I think a judicial appointee is ineligible for jury service. Hence future judge.

So there is usually a period of time when the person is no longer a practising barrister/solicitor, but is not yet a judge either.

budhabob

I know this is an old thread, so please close if necessary and I can start a new one.

I just received a notification for Jury Duty, however it is for Cork. I now live in Naas and work in Dublin. It is also for the 18th of February however I have a week of a college course in the UK starting on the 25th of February. I have changed my details on the Register to vote on the last referendum, so I would have assumed I would only get called for jury duty in the Kildare area.

Are the reasons above enough to avoid this particular jury duty? I understand that Jury Duty is my civic duty, and I have no problem fulfilling that but having to travel all the way down to cork etc is far from ideal, and the course has been paid for. Any advice is most appreciated.

ResearchWill

budhabob wrote: »

I know this is an old thread, so please close if necessary and I can start a new one.

I just received a notification for Jury Duty, however it is for Cork. I now live in Naas and work in Dublin. It is also for the 18th of February however I have a week of a college course in the UK starting on the 25th of February. I have changed my details on the Register to vote on the last referendum, so I would have assumed I would only get called for jury duty in the Kildare area.

Are the reasons above enough to avoid this particular jury duty? I understand that Jury Duty is my civic duty, and I have no problem fulfilling that but having to travel all the way down to cork etc is far from ideal, and the course has been paid for. Any advice is most appreciated.

Just ring the Cork Circuit court office they are very helpfull you may have to send a letter.

budhabob

ResearchWill wrote: »

Just ring the Cork Circuit court office they are very helpfull you may have to send a letter.

Thanks for that, I just wanted to know if my reasoning would be acceptable before I ring them.

ResearchWill

budhabob wrote: »

Thanks for that, I just wanted to know if my reasoning would be acceptable before I ring them.

Personal view, yes very reasonable.

glimmerman123

I have been summoned to do jury duty next month. Since i received the summons i haven't been able to eat or sleep and my tummy is all over the place. Would this be a good enough reason to be excused from jury duty? I am going to my doctor tomorrow to see if he can help by maybe giving me a medical note. If he doesn't i don't know what i will do. I'm really worried.

old hippy

I got out of it because I was just starting college then.

seamus

glimmerman123 wrote: »

I have been summoned to do jury duty next month. Since i received the summons i haven't been able to eat or sleep and my tummy is all over the place. Would this be a good enough reason to be excused from jury duty? I am going to my doctor tomorrow to see if he can help by maybe giving me a medical note. If he doesn't i don't know what i will do. I'm really worried.

Have you been diagnosed with some kind of condition where you are exceptionally nervous in public groups or new environments, etc?

There is basically an "any reasonable excuse" clause whereby you can be excused from jury service if you have a good reason. It is up to you to convince the county registrar (when replying to the notice) or the clerk of the court (on your first day of service) that you have a good reason for not being able to do jury service.

A letter from your doctor outlining that you suffer from anxiety attacks in public situations would probably be good enough, assuming that's the truth.

glimmerman123

seamus wrote: »

Have you been diagnosed with some kind of condition where you are exceptionally nervous in public groups or new environments, etc?

There is basically an "any reasonable excuse" clause whereby you can be excused from jury service if you have a good reason. It is up to you to convince the county registrar (when replying to the notice) or the clerk of the court (on your first day of service) that you have a good reason for not being able to do jury service.

A letter from your doctor outlining that you suffer from anxiety attacks in public situations would probably be good enough, assuming that's the truth.

I don't like been in public situations and if i'm put in that situation i just get all nervous and feel sick. I don't have a medical history of anxiety attacks because i try not to put myself in a situation where i will feel worried and sick. I will talk to my doctor and see what he says.

Slyderx1

Reading the above its a bloody wonder I ever had a jury to work with in Limerick during the good old days. Look grow some ..being summons for jury duty doesnt mean you actually serve on the jury simply that you form part of the jury panel from which on the trial day the county registrar draws names at random to serve on the actual jury itself. Its a lottery in short. Each side has 7 objections without cause.Have a quiet word with the court garda and miraculously you will be objected to....

glimmerman123

I phoned the county registra office and explained my situation and the lady on the phone was very understanding and excused me form jury duty and told me if i get summoned again to phone her and she would sort it out for me. A big worry off my mind.

old hippy

Slyderx1 wrote: »

Reading the above its a bloody wonder I ever had a jury to work with in Limerick during the good old days. Look grow some ......

:rolleyes:

Slyderx1

old hippy wrote: »

:rolleyes:

mea culpa...

Degag

Sorry to bump this but i'm curious as to the likelihood anyone has of being picked for Jury Duty. I have never been nor have any of my family and as far as I know any of my friends etc as i'm sure it would have come up in conversation...

con___manx1

Degag wrote: »

Sorry to bump this but i'm curious as to the likelihood anyone has of being picked for Jury Duty. I have never been nor have any of my family and as far as I know any of my friends etc as i'm sure it would have come up in conversation...

I got called for jury duty in may. A guy I know got called for the same date at the same court lol. I sent my details in but didn't get selected. the guy that i know went to the court and told me it was an serious assault case and the person was found guilty.

BadCharlie

Go to ryanair web site.
Book a one way ticket to the uk.
Make sure the date is before the jury starts.
Send a letter to court saying that your emirgrating to find work make sure to include the copy of plane ticket.
They will send you a letter in return stating your excused.

westies4ever

i got called last year and the date coincided with a family wedding. i returned the form explaining this and got excused. it was no hassle and there were no questions asked. i was a wee bit disappointed as i'd like to have done it.

Cavehill Red

BadCharlie wrote: »

Go to ryanair web site.
Book a one way ticket to the uk.
Make sure the date is before the jury starts.
Send a letter to court saying that your emirgrating to find work make sure to include the copy of plane ticket.
They will send you a letter in return stating your excused.

Or just pay the 60 odd euro fine to the state instead of Michael O'Leary and save yourself all that to-ing and fro-ing?

johnnyskeleton

BadCharlie wrote: »

Go to ryanair web site.
Book a one way ticket to the uk.
Make sure the date is before the jury starts.
Send a letter to court saying that your emirgrating to find work make sure to include the copy of plane ticket.
They will send you a letter in return stating your excused.

Hmm, so spend €50 on a flight you will not take in order to avoid jury duty, or do the jury duty, for which your employer is obliged by law to pay you for, come into work at 10.30, finish at 4, get free lunches courtesy of the state, listen to an interesting trial, see justice being done, meet new people and perform a very important civic duty.