28+ Jury Duty Excuse Letter Examples & Templates [+Tips]

At one point in time, you will often be called upon to perform the jury duties. While this is mandatory for any citizen, there are ways and means of evading this responsibility altogether. That requires you to draft a jury duty excuse letter. Aside from that, the laws also vary from state to state as regards the qualifications to skip the duty.

A jury duty excuse letter aims at explaining to the court officials why you would rather not attend the duties altogether. Given the divergence among the various states with regards to this subject matter, it is important that you familiarize yourself with the prevailing rules before setting out.

You no doubt need some inspiration to draft a letter of this kind. Here are some examples in both the MS Word and the PDF to give you the overall idea of planning one for yourself.

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Jury duties are largely mandatory and attract hefty penalties if skipped or absconded. Nonetheless, there are some legal loopholes via which these duties may be skipped. Below are but a few of them explained:

• Claim Economic Hardships – You may claim that you might undergo some economic hardships if you choose to skip your duty and instead sit at the jury. If you choose this path, you have to provide convincing proofs and explanations as the taxman will usually follow the allegations up.
• Request for a change of Date – Next, you may agree to attend the jury, yes, but a late other than the one specified or requested. Of course, the courts will seek your replacement as they can never easily defer the hearings.
• Prioritize Trials that occur in December – Studies have shown that the trials that are held in December are more likely to be postponed than those held at other times. You should hence prioritize attending those trials as there is a strong possibility you won’t attend.
• Shift the date forwards rather than backward – Other than merely altering the dates, you may ask the court to shift the date forwards rather than backward. Chances are high that you will be placed at the bottom of the list and you won’t attend the hearings altogether.
• Invoke your student status – If you are a student, do not hesitate to invoke your student status. You will likewise be placed at the back of the list. Chances yet again are high that you won’t attend the hearings altogether. Moreover, it is easier for you to skip the hearings citing class attendance.
• Carry out further research – There are innumerable other ways and means of legally skipping jury duty. It is upon you now to conduct further research to find these ways and incorporate them into your tactics for missing hearings.

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The main reason is to ask for an exemption from having to attend the court sessions and serve as a member of the jury. Others could be to spare you of any legal repercussions and penalties that come along with absconding such duties.

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Some of the good excuses to get out the jury duty are:

• Doctor’s notes and appointments
• Possible loss of income
• Proof of likely partiality in the course of the hearing
• Having served recently
• Likely conflicts of interest in the ongoing case
• Lack of knowledge depth of the subject matter

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There are subtle ways and means of avoiding being picked to serve as a jury. Below are some of them:

• Proof of incompetence in the matters of law
• If you have a more serious engagement on the material day
• You can show cause that you are actually related to either party
• In case you can convince the court that you won’t be fair
• Any ongoing criminal proceeding might also be a genuine ground to avoid the duty

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While drafting a jury duty excuse letter, there are some tips you have to uphold. That is the only guarantee that the letter you eventually come up with will serve its purpose not to mention conforming to the laid down rules and regulations. Here are some tips for your considerations and obedience:

• Read the summonses carefully – Before you start, you have to read the summonses carefully. Each state, local authority, and even courts have their own rules as regards the drafting of this particular letter. Only by reading and internalizing those rules can you do a relevant draft.
• Take note of the rules for exemptions – Closely tied to the above are the various rules of exemptions that govern the attendance of the jury duties. Please note that you can never exempt yourself for any other reason than those that are provided for in the summonses.
• Identify a suitable Template – If you have never drafted a letter of this kind before, we ask you to identify a suitable template. The template has to be directly related to the exemption and be admissible in the jurisdiction wherein you are located or found.
• Settle on the most appropriate format – After choosing a suitable template, go ahead now to select an appropriate format. The two go hand in hand. Yet again, you have to select a format that is as relevant to your area and the exemption at hand.
• Include the contact details – For the sake of expedited follow-up, later on, you have to include your contact details. That also allows any verification to be sent to you easily if and when they need to do so arises at some point.

Given the sensitive nature of legal issues, you have to draft a nice jury duty excuse letter. That is a duty you can never really do well without reading our explanations keenly. What are you waiting for now? Go ahead and draft the letter using the information we have provided!