# What would happen if I simply refuse to show up for jury duty? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 8, 2019, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-simply-refuse-to-show-up-for-jury-duty/830754 "2019-03-08T09:32:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![kevlaw](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kevlaw/32/2281_2.png) [@kevlaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kevlaw)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2019, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-simply-refuse-to-show-up-for-jury-duty/830754/41 "2019-03-08T20:32:01Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I’m not sure why you think it’s some degree of injustice for you to have to send a paper letter to clear up this matter. You have left me wordless as I ponder this very good question. I’m not sure that my objection is entirely rational. I did experience it as an injustice though. Not now—it’s over now—but at the time I felt it viscerally. I think perhaps it is mostly fear and dread of large bureaucracies and the unthinking harm that they can do. I can be sympathetic to the poor worker who has to deal with all the lowlifes who try to cheat their way out of jury duty and still resent the system that they are a part of. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2019, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-simply-refuse-to-show-up-for-jury-duty/830754/42 "2019-03-08T21:49:42Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > I’m sure response rates vary by area, but 5% seems really low to me. The anecdotes I’m finding have a lot of courts that are counting themselves lucky to get response rates above 50%. And how do they separate no-shows from their data being junk? Imposing massive consequences on people because some court system’s shitty computer still has a five year old address sounds less than ideal. I live in Alameda County, just north of the OP, and based on the roll call the half dozen or so times I’ve reported for jury duty the response rate is over 90%. I also think the summons form has a place to explain why you are no longer eligible, but it might be different in Santa Clara County. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2019, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-simply-refuse-to-show-up-for-jury-duty/830754/43 "2019-03-08T22:05:37Z")
Every jury duty summons I’ve ever gotten, from various places in Ohio and California, came with a pre-addressed, (pre-paid? maybe), tear-off section to be used if there is a reason that you can’t or shouldn’t serve jury duty. You fill in your reason(s) on the lines provided, tear it off, and drop it in a mailbox. If it’s not pre-paid, you have to add a stamp, but it would be postcard rated. And from the UK, or if you don’t want privacy, you can put it in an envelope. There were instructions in the summons on what would and wouldn’t be accepted as a proper reason. I’m surprised that the instructions and reply card were absent. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2019, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-simply-refuse-to-show-up-for-jury-duty/830754/44 "2019-03-09T04:22:49Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > And, also, sending a letter isn’t that hard. It’s obviously not _hard_, but it could be a hassle for someone people, and I would also be pretty cheesed off if I had to deal with all of that just because someone somewhere refused to receive the information by two different convenient means. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2019, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-simply-refuse-to-show-up-for-jury-duty/830754/45 "2019-03-09T04:37:51Z")
missed the edit window: some people, not someone people ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2019, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-simply-refuse-to-show-up-for-jury-duty/830754/46 "2019-03-09T05:32:47Z")
I moved from one county to another in New Jersey. I received a jury notice from the old county at my current address in the new county. It wasn’t forwarded. They have my correct address which was obviously not in their county. I didn’t get outraged over the inconvenience or call up complaining. I sent a letter stating that I no longer live in your county as you can see by my current address. It was immediately cleared up and I never heard from them again. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2019, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-simply-refuse-to-show-up-for-jury-duty/830754/47 "2019-03-09T12:06:46Z")
In northern Ontario a problem arose with jury lists. Some Indian reserves refused to send in lists of their residents. That led to some criminal court dismissals for want of a jury of one’s peers. It’s presently being sorted out. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2019, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-simply-refuse-to-show-up-for-jury-duty/830754/48 "2019-03-09T15:33:40Z")
One question about jury duty. If one is eligible for jury duty, and does not have a legitimate excuse for getting out of it, why are some folks still unwilling to serve? The right to a jury trial is an important part of our legal system, so a person should be willing to serve if they ever expect to have the right to a jury themselves someday. I know it can be an inconvenience, but that in itself is not an excuse. I have been summoned several times but never ended up having to serve on a trial jury. But I did serve on a grand jury once, and it was a real eye opener, a true learning experience. I did prevent the possibility of one person serving on a jury. A good friend of mine was in serious legal trouble, and I was present during part of the jury selection process. During a break I overheard a potential juror lamenting the process and she said _Why dont we just hang him and get this f_\*_ing thing over with?_ I walked over to the defense lawyer and discreely pointed her out, telling him what I had heard, so that she was not selected. ---
**Author:** ![Mnemnosyne](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mnemnosyne/32/3347_2.png) [@Mnemnosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mnemnosyne)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2019, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-simply-refuse-to-show-up-for-jury-duty/830754/49 "2019-03-09T18:14:20Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > One question about jury duty. If one is eligible for jury duty, and does not have a legitimate excuse for getting out of it, why are some folks still unwilling to serve? The right to a jury trial is an important part of our legal system, so a person should be willing to serve if they ever expect to have the right to a jury themselves someday. I know it can be an inconvenience, but that in itself is not an excuse. A lot of reasons; some just don’t want to. But a lot have a very good reason: they have a job that won’t pay them if they don’t show up. They’re legally required to not fire them for being absent for jury duty, but they don’t get paid, either. And of course, the jury duty pay is insignificant. For someone who needs the money, this isn’t just an inconvenience. I recall reading that this causes jury pools to be skewed toward more affluent people - those who can afford to take a couple days off, because either they have enough money to not be bothered about missing work for a few days, or because they are salaried employees and them missing work for a few days doesn’t alter their pay. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2019, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-simply-refuse-to-show-up-for-jury-duty/830754/50 "2019-03-09T18:20:35Z")
> [@Mnemnosyne](#): > > I recall reading that this causes jury pools to be skewed toward more affluent people - those who can afford to take a couple days off, because either they have enough money to not be bothered about missing work for a few days, or because they are salaried employees and them missing work for a few days doesn’t alter their pay. I’ve read that this causes all sorts of biases- toward the affluent who can afford to take the time for jury duty but also toward the unemployed/retired/students ( who can schedule their service during a break) who pick up a few extra bucks while they’re on jury duty. ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2019, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-simply-refuse-to-show-up-for-jury-duty/830754/51 "2019-03-09T18:21:26Z")
> [@kevlaw](#): > > Part of my problem is that I’m an idealist and I think problems like this should be solvable if only people cared a little more. Not only is the problem easily solvable, but you’ve been told how to easily solve it. You just, for some bizarre reason, don’t want to actually use the solution provided. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-simply-refuse-to-show-up-for-jury-duty/830754.md?page=2)