Six Excuses to Help You Avoid Jury Duty

Have you been summoned to perform jury duty? Unless you thrive on crime based TV shows such as Law & Order, Criminal Minds or the First 48, you're going to be willing to do any and everything to get out of this "spiders web" known as jury duty. Sure, doing your civic duty for the country is a great thing to do, however; going to jury duty can be inconvenient in more than one way. Learn the excuses and ways to maneuver around this task by reading the tips below.

Family in Law Enforcement: If you have a family member that is apart of the state law enforcement, you may be dismissed due to the fact that you could be bias. Having your family in the law field could possibly enable you to make an unfair decision..... at least that's how it will seem.

You're a Convict: If you're a convicted felon, you will without a doubt be dismissed from jury duty. Convicted Felon's serve no purpose on the jury as the law believes they have no credibility. It is up to you to let the court know if you're a convicted felon by either calling the help line or stating it as soon as you get there.

The Money Game: If you are having a financial hardship, you maybe dismissed from jury duty. If you cannot miss work or don't have the proper funds, use it as your excuse. You will have to bring in financial statements such as tax documents, paycheck stubs etc in order to be dismissed.

Illness: If you have a condition that will keep you from either paying attention (ex. ADD) or physically being able to sit or stand, you will often be dismissed from jury duty. Make sure that you bring in any medical records or call and report of your condition before going.

Practice Poor Grooming: If you go into court looking and smelling un-fresh, this is likely to be a reason to dismiss you from jury duty. If you walk in looking like a bum, they will skip over you 9 times out of 10, guaranteed!

Be Bilingual: The court tends to shy away from picking those whose primary languages is not English. If you speak languages other than English, use them to your advantage and speak as if it were your first language. The courts believe that it's hard enough for jurors to make decisions and comprehend, this will only add more difficulty, and therefore you will be dismissed.