Can You Volunteer For Jury Duty?
Jurors are randomly chosen to ensure a fair trial and diversity on the panel; once summoned for jury duty, you cannot refuse unless there is a justifiable reason. This method of selecting jurors at random ensures that there is no discrimination, and hence it is not possible to volunteer for jury duty.
Who is Qualified for Jury Service?
The following is the criterion to be eligible for jury service in the United States:
One must be a United States citizen.
One must be at least 18 years old.
One must not have been charged with a felony until civil rights are lawfully restored.
One must have lived in the judicial district for at least a year.
One must be of sound mind and have no disqualifying medical issues.
One should not be currently facing criminal charges that could result in imprisonment for a year or more.
To be eligible for jury service, one must be fluent in English.
Juror Selection-
The jury is chosen from a list of registered voters and driver’s licences. In this process, randomly selected people are summoned, questioned, and then jurors are selected for a certain trial after qualifying the questioning. Panels of possible jurors are divided into smaller panels and allocated to different cases. The jurors are initially introduced and briefed on the nature of the case before being questioned by attorneys and then after questioning it is evaluated whether the jurors are fair and impartial. The questioning process is also known as voir dire, which means “tell the truth”. The purpose of the questioning is to make sure that the juror has the ability to come to a decision without any biases. The judge generally excuse members of the panel who know any of the subjects involved in the matter, have information about the case, or have strong opinions about the subjects or problems involved in the case.
Time Off for Jury Service-
Jury Duty is a legal responsibility of every citizen, and hence employers in most jurisdictions are legally bound to grant time off work in order to fulfil their civic responsibility; a number of states also require that no jury duty time be deducted from the employee’s paycheck. In fact, federal law forbids employers from taking unfavourable actions such as terminating employment based on jury duty time out. These adverse actions also include trying to pressure the employee into not serving on a jury. Jurors are compensated for their time, although who pays them varies by state.
Reasons For Being Excused From Jury Duty-
One can be excused from Jury Duty if they have a justifiable reason. These reasons include medical issues, military conflict, student status, Public necessity, dependent care, undue hardships and so on. For any reason, you need to submit a letter from the authority supporting your claims for medical reasons, a letter from the doctor is to be submitted, if it is a matter of financial hardship or employment conflict, a letter from the employer is to be submitted. It is important to note that excuses for jurors are granted at the discretion of the court.
Paid Jury Duty Leaves-
The federal employees receive their regular wage when they are summoned for jury service. As per the Bureau of Labour Statistics, 94% of the state government employees get paid for Jury Duty leave, and 85% of local government employees get paid for their jury service. It is also observed that 57% of the private sector employees get paid for Jury services. However, this policy of payment for jury duty varies from state to state, some states leave it to the employer about the payment and few states have a mandate for paying employees who are summoned for jury duty.
Conclusion-
Jury Duty should not be viewed as a burden rather it should be regarded as a contribution to the country and government. The opportunity to serve as a juror for a case gives one a great exposure to the legal proceedings of a court and it makes you learn how to have an unbiased opinion about things. There have been many requests regarding people wanting to volunteer for jury service however, there is no provision for volunteering yet.
How to get excused from jury duty if an emergency happens on the service date?
Answer. If an emergency occurs one can contact the jury service department and inform the jury service clerk.
