Jury Duty - Is a Paid Vacation a Valid Excuse?

[poohs_hunny]

I just received a summons for jury duty for August 1st. In a way, this is a good time, since I'm a teacher and I wouldn't have to miss a day of school. But, my trip to WDW is Aug. 12th. If I was chosen for a jury, this could be a problem. If I brought proof of my paid vacation with me that day, would this be a valid excuse? If not, I will just request a postponement. It won't be worth losing my vacation over. Has anyone had experience with this? Thanks!

 

[goodeats]

It depends on the judge, and how long the case is. Most cases don't last that long, so I'd risk it. Last time I was there the judge went around the room and asked what people's execuses were. For most vacations he said that wouldn't be a problem. For people who's vacation conflicted with the case schedule he let them go.

In my state/county you can pick when you want to come back. That helps me a lot since my job has a lot of monthly deadlines.

 

[yeartolate]

Every county is different.


Mine allows one defferal, but the second one is a gotta haveta.

Ours also allows us to pick a date if the original date is a no go.

 

[CPT Tripss]

We are able to call the Court Clerk in advance of the summons date. You could do this and discuss with him/her your options.

I have faced that same conflict and was told I would be rescheduled.

It's worth the call.

 

[LakeAriel]

Most cases are a week or less. I would report and take it from there. If you aren't chosen on the first day you will not be called again for 6 years.(In NY)

 

[SC Minnie]

What kind of court were your summoned for? I was on jury duty for General Sessions Court last month and it was only for a week. I ended up sitting on 2 trials during that week. Here for General Sessions court those trials last a day or 2- very few go into 3 days.

 

[Barb D]

In our county, jury duty is one day or one trial, and one trial is usually less than a week. I would call the jury commissioner and explain the situation, and see what he/she says.

 

[cabanafrau]

It is highly unlikely that you would be selected for a case that would run that length of time, not many jury trials do. Generally a judge will hustle the attorneys along if they fall too far behind what was mapped out in the pre-trial conference. They will be well-aware that jurors likely have a vacation scheduled for the summer timeframe, and it's highly likely that one of the attorneys will, too, as well as the judge.

Make contact with the court to get their response & then be sure to alert them of the fact when you arrive for jury selection. It may be necessary to bring copies of documentation to verify your situation, but a simple phone call now can answer that question.

 

[EthansMom]

About a year ago, I got the Jury Duty notice. It was for the week before our vacation. The notice had a spot to put it the information about why this date wouldn't work for you AND to fill in alternate dates for which you could be available. I filled out the paperwork and sent it in promptly. About a week or two later, I got the paperwork saying that my Jury Duty had been postponed to the new date.

My understanding is that there isn't a big problem getting your dates deferred (postponed) for a valid reason (non-refundable vacation seems reasonable). But DON'T expect to go in on your Jury Duty date and get away with not serving because you have vacation the next week.

So, if your paperwork doesn't offer an option to defer, call up the Court Clerk's office and request a deferral... do this immediately so that they can plan for their jury pool needs.

ETA: I just read that you're a teacher. If you don't have any other plans, you could call the Court Clerks office and ask to be reassigned to a different date (late June or sometime in July) when they need more people for the jury pool. That way, you don't endanger your vacation and you get the whole Jury Duty thing over with. (In my case, when I called in the night before, I was one of those folks who didn't even have to show up!)

 

[kelleigh1]

Every state is different and there are different types of jury duty - all of which will dictate different rules and will have different lengths for trial.

Your best bet is to call the Court Clerk's office and tell them your situation as someone else mentioned.

Otherwise, you're going to get tons of answers from every state in the nation and you may never know the real answer to your question.