To try to get out of jury duty??

[FusionChefGeoff]

I've been summoned for 23rd August for 2 weeks but I run my own (micro) business and have key client projects launching those 2 weeks so I'd like to delay - plus it's school holidays and I don't want to be stuck in bloody court!!!

But I'm not sure how it then works.

So it asks to give 3 alternative possible start dates within the next 12 months. Plus you need to be available for 2 weeks in each of those blocks.

Am I then expected to keep all 6 weeks clear in case I get a short notice call up? Or will they reply fairly quickly to confirm which window I need to be available for??

My business could not cope with weeks worth of black out dates - as I can't refuse work worth thousands (average contracts last 3-4 months with 'launch' stuff as a climax at the end and is worth 8k ish) and generally speaking if I can't agree to be available on the project launch dates I won't get it!!

I also work within an industry that has literally only just reopened properly this week so I'm on the bones of my arse as it is.

Anyone know how it works and AIBU to try to defer completely for this 12 month period due to my business needs???

There is a LOT of waiting around in jury duty. When I did it a few years ago there was MUCH more time out of the courtroom than in. The days are generally pretty short too.

Quite a few years ago when my daughter was between 5 and 10, I was called to jury service three times. Three bloody times!

The first time, I thought - this will be interesting, though a bit of a pain in the neck re work and organising childcare, but I felt it was my civic duty and my firm was accommodating.

Fast forward a couple of years and I was called once again. I didn't feel quite so keen. It was frankly annoying as work were not happy (and neither was I). But I did it. and it only lasted 2 weeks, so could have been worse.

Two years later, I got another summons. I was pretty astonished as I knew no one else who'd had jury service once, never mind thrice. So I wrote a letter to the head of the Jury Central Summoning Bureau asking to be excused as I'd already performed my civic duty, twice. The answer was a resounding No! I asked to speak to a judge. You'd think I was asking to speak to the Queen, given their outrage! I had no reasonable excuse (according to them) so, once again, I performed jury service, this time for 3 weeks. My employer was pretty pissed off actually, as was I.

No idea if this is normal at all.

I've just been called up. But we get full pay for jury service here in Aus, so I'm going to do it. I don't really have any grounds to defer, so it's a relief about the pay.

My brother ignored his letter and thus evaded jury duty.
A simple yet effective active to my surprise.

[quote 480Widdio]@DancesWithTortoises,it’s gone up now to 75.I am 73 and was summoned recently.[/quote]
Buggeration

I understand that it is difficult but to al those moaning about Jury service - what would you prefer for our judicial system?

Write in and tell them you are psychic and will know the outcome before the trial starts... or write in and say you can be relied on to send anyone up for trial down and that hanging is too good for them... both should get you out.

I had to defer once, and they gave the weeks I'd have to be there quite quickly after the application to defer. Would it work to do the dates furthest in the future, then when they give you a date, you can start booking up work in the other weeks?

Sorry to be a bearer of bad news, but it's worth bearing in mind that sometimes cases last more than two weeks , and if you get stuck with one of those, you have to stick it out.

The pay really is an area that needs looking at. Dh was called some years ago when the children were small and he was newly self employed. Deferral was refused and it brought us to our knees financially. Lovely MIL on realising gifted us the pay difference so we could pay bills and eat.

Dh had nightmares about the case for years after (I did suggest counselling but he never went)

I know however he would do it again if he was called and thankfully these days we have a buffer to cope if it did happen.

When I was called to do it if I hadn’t been able to get out of it we literally would have lost everything. I couldn’t risk my deferral request being denied so I got out of it another way
I don’t care if anyone judges that or says “well couldn’t you have just .......”. There was literally no way I could have done it.
I would and could happily do it now though

@Snog

My brother ignored his letter and thus evaded jury duty. A simple yet effective active to my surprise.

This works

My brother's tactic was slightly different, he wrote back stating that he would find the defendant innocent if they were white and guilty if they were not. It varies from country to country of course, this might not work everywhere.