In NY you get a auto-postponement if you get a jury duty summons and can postpone it up to 6 months out if you request the postponement at least 3 days before you have to serve.
Usually in the summons you get a juror number and have to call in the night before to see if they are calling your number. In some counties you have to do this for a week, in others you just have one day.
So lets say I was in the place where I have a day to serve (lets say Thursday June 2nd). I wait till the last possible moment to request my postponement (they will get it on Monday, May 29th) and request June 3rd (Friday). They are suppose to honor my requested date and not just assign another.
What would happen, would they have enough time to process it and get me on in such short notice, or is it likely that that next day would be booked up and they would not need me for that day? Or would they get pissed at me and make sure I go?
Well I really didn’t ask how you would feel about it, unless you are the one working at the Commissioner of Jurors
The reasoning for this was not to get out of my civil duty but for a really practical reason which MAY get me off OR guarantee that I serve since I will have pissed them off.
The day that I am suppose to serve is not an option as I will be over 100 miles away due to medical reasons and this appointment was made months ago long before getting the summons, and takes months to reschedule. This is the reason for the postponement.
Now my work is variable, and I have some days that if I don’t work I will loose that work permanently, this constitutes a large portion of my income and I really can’t afford to loose that portion. The problem is I really don’t know if I have that type of work till very close to that date. So it is helpful for me to postpone it to the closest day that I know presently that I don’t have any of that type of work.
Or in other words, on that Monday (the latest day I can postpone it), I will have a pretty good idea if I have to work on that Friday (the soonest day I can reschedule it), If I choose Monday then I have less of an idea if I have to work, Tuesday still less. And if I choose to put it off 6 months, I have no idea if I have to work or not.
So the system as is seems to be designed for me to postpone it if needed in a way that gives the CoJ the shortest time to reply.
This got me thinking if they will have time to react, and if they will get pissed at me for doing this.
There is no hard and fast answer to your question as different jurisdictions have different policies and procedures WRT jury duty. The only real way to find out would be to call up and ask them, but that might defeat your purpose.
Why would they get pissed?
You’re just a number, and it’s not like your not showing up or re-scheduling would postpone a trial.
There are many others to take your place.
When I was called for Jury duty, 37 of 40 showed up, and out of that 12 of us were picked to sit on the jury.
The only time you are truly vital to the Justice sysytem is if you are seated on a jury.
And as Otto, mentioned, I doubt that would ever happen.
I suspect that they would “try” to accommodate your request. Fail (because everyone knows that you didn’t give them enough time to get it done). And give you a new date that might or might not be more convenient. If the process is done entirely by computer you might score a win because of some computer glitch. But otherwise the clerk will just assign you to the pool that is currently being summoned when your request is received.
No, actually he fits into the jury pool demographic quite well.
I think the medical reason should be enough. When I lived in a more rural area I was excused from jury duty because I am unable to drive and would not have had transportation to the courthouse. They may require a doctor’s note, just like they asked me to verify my situation. Since you only need to get out of it this once, they might be more lenient on you. Then again, I don’t really know, I just have experience with my own county and non-one time dispensation. Speaking of which, I really have to register with my current county.
If they pick people for jury duty there like they do here is Mississippi, then I suggest that you stop voting and get your name off that list. If you are not a registered voter in Mississippi you do not get called for jury duty. You wouldn’t believe how many people won’t register to vote for that reason. [sup]or maybe you would believe it.[/sup]
Because my last post was spectacularly unhelpful (still don’t understand what happened), here’s what I meant.
Many places have a system called “one day, one trial,” whereby jurors, when called, are required to serve either one day in the courthouse, or on one trial, then can’t be called again for a year. So to manage the number of people that they need, the court will put a number of people “on call” for a week (or a day, as in the OP). Your concern is that the “one day” you are supposed to call in for is a day you absolutely can’t serve, and if you do an auto-postponement for a six months, you may be called on a day that, again, you can’t serve.
Consider calling the court clerk and asking if you can show up on Friday, your free day. In many places, fewer trials start on Friday, so you may be less likely to be impaneled on a jury. (YMMV.) That way, you will have fulfilled your jury obligation with the least impact on your livelihood.
[sup]or maybe you would believe it.[/sup]