Jury Duty Question

Submitted by hyperseamonkey t3_1240hzw in baltimore

Got a random question about Jury Duty. I got a jury summons for the city and am able to attend on the day that I got called. However, I have a work trip that I cannot reschedule the next day. Is it better that I just reschedule my Jury Duty day or is there an opportunity to explain my situation if they are selecting jurors for a trial that goes longer than the day of?

Thanks all in advance!

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Comments

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Maleficent_Thanks_51 t1_jdxb00o wrote

Reschedule. It's painless, but make sure you don't miss the deadline. You only have a limited time to request to reschedule.

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Expendable_Red_Shirt t1_jdxaiwb wrote

I would not do what /u/munchnerk recommended at all. Reschedule jury duty. They're desperate for people a lot of the time. They may let you go, but it's a big risk. They don't have to. Especially given you knew about this ahead of time and could have scheduled around it. Many trials will go longer than a day.

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ThirdofaNerd t1_jdxdris wrote

I got a summons about a week ago and it fell on a day I need to be at work and would be a huge inconvenience for me to appear. I just called the phone number on the summons during working hours and spoke to someone who easily switched me to a date in May. Easy peasy.

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hyperseamonkey OP t1_jdxeruy wrote

Oh that's good to know! I was just about to submit the form online but I will just do that!

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hyperseamonkey OP t1_jdxevi5 wrote

Do they give you a new summons and number to check the day before the summoning date or do you just now have to attend on the new date?

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MereThorn t1_jdxxf5h wrote

I recently postponed my jury duty (online). I then got mailed a new jury summons with the new date. It’s the same juror number - but it could be because both the old and new dates are on a Thursday.

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ThirdofaNerd t1_jdyaiml wrote

Haven’t received my new summons in the mail yet. My original date was on a Thursday but the new date they gave me on the phone is a Tuesday so I’m not sure.

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ringsonmyfingers t1_jdxq2tg wrote

Literally just got mine and rescheduled online. They give you a list of possible dates to choose from. It was really easy. The dates they gave me were 15-20 days out from my original date.

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hyperseamonkey OP t1_jdxr33s wrote

Oh perfect!! I didn't realize they gave you a choice. Will do that tonight!

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rook119 t1_jdxy2f0 wrote

I've never had a prob rescheduling. Many of us get summoned every year, they understand.

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Crazyace352 t1_jdzy481 wrote

Or take the chance you won't get selected.

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munchnerk t1_jdx9r78 wrote

Is this your first time through? I had my first jury duty call last year and it was fascinating. I went through the selection process for three separate trials on my jury duty day. Each time, during the voir dire process, the judge asked jurors to come forward and explain any extenuating circumstance that would result in jury duty being a hardship.

I explained that I was involved in an active emergency response and was irreplaceable on my team, and that because I'm a contractor, I would also suffer financial hardship from jury assignment. All of which was true! As a result they didn't pick me. If something would stress you out enough that you'd be distracted from the trial, they don't want you on the jury. You could definitely go through the selection process, say "I have a work trip that I cannot reschedule tomorrow," and they'll almost certainly let you go.

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hyperseamonkey OP t1_jdxakk2 wrote

It is my first time so I'm not sure what to expect. Got called once during covid but all trials got cancelled.

Thanks so much for your response!

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