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I got summoned to be a state grand juror in Trenton. It's one day a week for 20 weeks. I live in Fort Lee and Trenton is extremely far and I have a 1 year old son that needs to be taken care of after 4:30 (that's when I come home). Is that enough for me to get out of this? This is going to cause such a headache for me. I also don't have the car sometimes...would they actually make me take the train?
To get excused, you would need to demonstrate that you need to care for children and alternative care would be a severe financial hardship.
The travel issue is tougher since they seek jurors from all counties in NJ, so many potential jurors will have to travel very far. You can add on car issues and potential cost as a secondary reason, but child care should be your main focus.
That being said, if you can find a way to do it, serving on a jury is a valuable civic duty and many people end up finding it educational/enjoyable.
You should just tell them and see what they say. It's been my experience that being honest about your situation is the best way to deal with it. There is nothing that anyone on the internet can tell you to get you out of jury duty, only the clerk can do something about it and they get lied to all day long and have literally heard every excuse you can come up with.
Be the breath of fresh air and tell them the truth about being in Fort Lee and that you do not have dependable transportation to Trenton every day and that you are responsible for child care starting at 4:30 every day.
The only thing I'll add about trying to get out of jury duty is to imagine you were wrongly imprisoned for someone else's mistake, would you rather have someone like you on the jury or someone who is a total dumbass?
dont be honest to a fault. choose a good excuse that will work but try to make it as close to reality as possible. read the reasons for excuses and then see which one most closely fits your reality and then exaggerate your reality.
Is it too late to pretend you never received the notice? I got called for jury duty one time and called the court to register. I told someone at work about it, and the first thing they said was why didn't you just ignore it? The notice didn't get sent certified mail or signature delivery.
Is it too late to pretend you never received the notice? I got called for jury duty one time and called the court to register. I told someone at work about it, and the first thing they said was why didn't you just ignore it? The notice didn't get sent certified mail or signature delivery.
^^ bad advice.
Yes there is a chance that you could ignore it and nothing will happen.
More likely: you'll get another summons in the mail (this one probably certified) telling you to appear in court to explain why you shouldn't be held in contempt and fined. The, IF (big IF) they actually believe you and you avoid a fine, I'll bet you'll be put in the front of line for jury duty and they will not be listening to any excuses to be excused.
Yes there is a chance that you could ignore it and nothing will happen.
More likely: you'll get another summons in the mail (this one probably certified) telling you to appear in court to explain why you shouldn't be held in contempt and fined. The, IF (big IF) they actually believe you and you avoid a fine, I'll bet you'll be put in the front of line for jury duty and they will not be listening to any excuses to be excused.
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