Quote:
Originally Posted by Kappamd
I've googled for an answer to this question, but so far no luck.
Does anyone know if you can be excused from jury duty for a funeral? I'm supposed to serve on Thursday but I just found out my grandmother has passed away. The only number I was provided with is the number to call Wednesday night to see if I am supposed to come in so I don't know who to call about this.
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You should call the Clerk of Court for whatever jurisdiction you're summoned by.
You'll likely be deferred to a later panel, although you could be let off completely (assuming you can provide something like an obit or funeral home letter to support your position) depending on attrition. Call, explain, and have a way to indicate the funeral is really happening (usually you can fax this, but showing up in person wouldn't hurt).
In some areas, you'll be forced to attend and explain your hardship to the judge. The Court will then decide whether your hardship excludes you from duty - in most places it will, as the Court (and the attorneys) don't want jurors who don't want to be there. Technically, however, you could be kept - it is, after all, your civic duty, and a funeral doesn't necessarily fit the "hardship" definition under the local rules of many places.
Sorry that it is so dependent on locality - c'est la vie when it comes to this kind of thing. It makes my life suck on a regular basis, but hopefully you can profit from that suckiness.
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