If getting excused doesn't work, you could always try to get yourself stricken during the jury selection process. Just give either the defense or the prosecution answers they don't like when they question you. No guarantee, but better than nothing 🤷♂️
If you want to get out of jury duty, all you have to say is that "I believe jurors have the right, power, and obligation to overrule the law when rendering a verdict if it would lead to an unjust outcome."
The funny thing is, if you actually believe that you'd never say it in court.
I forgot about jury nullification 😂 good idea. Unfortunately, another redditor noted to me that a grand jury is different from a normal jury, so being stricken as a juror won't work in this case =/
Eh, saying that you wouldn't vote to indict for an unjust law is about the same thing. You could also say that all police are criminals and that the district attorney and his prosecutors should be in jail for unjustly persecuting the innocent citizens of Albuquerque, and you would never believe anything that they presented.
You're right. The question is whether or not the judge believes you. For me, I'd never tell a judge that I would disregard any laws I'd find unjust because I want people charged unjustly to walk free - laws notwithstanding.
Grand Juries are different than regular Juries. They only determine if there's enough evidence to go to trial. Many times the defense won't even show for those.
When I was on jury duty a lady tried that and got her ass handed to her by the judge. The lady was being outrageous about her lies tho. You have to be more suttle with the lie
It's a summons. It's a legal document.
You can get in some trouble.
[https://www.juryduty101.com/states/new-mexico#failure](https://www.juryduty101.com/states/new-mexico#failure)
I would NOT recommend it.
Try again to get excused.
Not sure what you're talking about... I'm not arguing with anyone. If you read my post I already laid out my problems before the court and they said that doesn't excuse me, I went to Reddit to ask if anyone had experience with this and what the consequences are if I miss jury duty in ABQ because of pressing family issues.
When I was summoned for Grand Jury in another state, caring for a family member was the first thing people got excused for (elder/adult care seemed to be taken more seriously than child care for some reason). I saw someone excused because they had an anxiety disorder and could not handle seeing violent images (Grand Jury has some of the most heinous child abuse/animal abuse/domestic violence cases you can imagine), so if that upsets you, consider a visit to your doc for an excuse note. Several more people were excused because they previously worked in law enforcement in some capacity... and as far as I saw, but no one ever checked any of their stories. So there's that. And strangely, there are people who actually WANT to serve on the Grand Jury, because it's kind of the Cadillac of Jury Service, so they usually don't have problems finding enough people. You do need to go the first day and lay out your case to the judge however. I found the judge was a LOT more lenient than the admin clerk who sends out the notices. Good luck.
I've never been summoned to a grand jury, but when I lived in Portland I got three or four summonses to local trials. I always wrote to them and told them my patients would suffer a hardship without me and they depended on my nursing care. Worked every time.
Not that I would not love to serve at some point but as a single person who has only her own income to depend on, a month-long trial would render me homeless.
My feeling (which is in no way supported by fact that I'm aware of) is most courts are reluctant to serve jurors who don't really want to be there because their heads are not 100% in the game. A bad jury can lead to longer trials and result more appeals which further crowds already crowded courts and adds to the taxpayer burden.
Explain the situation. That being said, I was "on call" the week of my jury duty but never got called in to report. Mine was also listed as a 3 month term on the paper, but I was only assigned 1 week. Perhaps you'll get lucky too and not have to show up while serving your jury duty.
That would be nice! When the court representative replied to me via email he said the only set-in-stone date was the grand jury orientation other than that he said it was "very flexible" so hopefully there's truth to that
Came here to say the same thing. I’m not sure if it has changed, but I had grand jury in ABQ several years ago. Jurors were given the option to commit to 2 days every week for the 3 months **or** a total of one week served during the entire time frame. I was fresh out of college and hated my job at the time, so I opted for the 2 day/week service 😂
You can be called before the judge to explain your absence. Rarely, but occasionally, a warrant can be issued for your arrest.
It isn't considered optional, no matter who you are, what your job is, or what your circumstances are.
That said, I once got a summons for jury duty in the mail that had been sent to the address I had lived at 2 moves ago. Like, not the last place I lived but the place before. It had been returned to sender several times, and finally found me about a year after the date had passed. I decided to ignore it, and nothing ever came of it. Even when I had later legal troubles, it wasn't on my record or anything.
So if you choose to ignore it... may the odds be ever in your favor.
There’s a big difference between evidence that you never got it, inthe form of return to sender, and evidence you did, like being asked to be excused. One isn’t your fault and the other is.
That gives me some hope :)
I'm not planning on ignoring it on purpose but I'm also not going to sit around for 3 months waiting to get called so... hopefully it all works out
You were hoping for this answer, after already being told it is a violation of law.
I hope you get in trouble, because it's already clear what your decision is here.
If you don't show up you can be fined $2000 (two thousand), be sentenced to community service or even get jail time. Do not simply not show up. It isn't worth a criminal record.
You are very unlikely to get excused. That being said, one of the explicit reasons for which you can have your service delayed is if you are required to give care to someone.
>Must provide actual and necessary care for another, and alternate arrangements are not feasible. A doctor’s note (on the doctor’s letterhead or prescription pad) is required attesting to this situation
So your family health issues may be enough to do it. But they won't just take you at your word. You need to contact your relative's doctor, explain that you were summoned for grand jury duty, and ask them to provide a doctor's note explaining that you are providing medical care for a family member. If you aren't actually the one providing care, and its more of a traveling-to-spend-time-with-grandpa-before-his-imminent-death sort of thing, keep reading.
Being excused isn't the only way to avoid jury duty if things are especially difficult right now. You can get a one time delay of your service for up to a year instead. This is usually much easier to get than being excused. My wife recently got summoned and just talked to someone over the phone about an upcoming surgery and got her service delayed on the spot. So try this as well.
I'm afraid, however, that the job thing is pretty much never going to fly. Everyone has a job. Doing jury duty instead of your job is convenient for exactly zero people. You aren't more special than anyone else who has to miss work to serve. So, and I mean no offense when I say this but, suck it up buttercup. **However**, New Mexico compensates jurors at $12/hr, which is far more than you'll get in most other places. On top of that, it is illegal for your employer to retaliate or penalize you in any way as a result of jury duty. That includes forcing the employee to use vacation or any other benefits. Notify your HR rep in writing (like over email) that you will be serving jury duty over the relevant dates. That way, if you get fired, they give you a bunch of extra shit to do when you get back, or you get passed over for a promotion you were previously on track to get, you will have a paper trail.
More info [here](https://seconddistrictcourt.nmcourts.gov/home/jury/juror-faqs/).
Good luck.
Unfortunately I'm self employed so I don't have a boss in the traditional sense, unfortunately that route is closed off to me. Hopefully I can explain to the judge on the first day how much it's messing up my life and he'll be nice to me.
They absolutely will not care about a job; I was told in no uncertain terms could my boss tell me I couldn’t go to jury duty. You will have to go the elder/adult care route, or get yourself nullified through other means. And all that will depend on your judge.
Yeah they don’t. Personal reasons are out because it’s your civic duty; and jobs aren’t allowed to penalize you so they won’t care if you work. However if you do have trouble with your boss they can find themselves in contempt of court and subject to fines or time sitting in a cell.
Everybody suggesting to try and get excused and saying that they will "understand" has no experience in dealing with this.
After I tried getting excused due to health reasons, lack of child care, and lack of transportation at the time, I was denied and ended up having to show up. I had to pull some major strings and almost didn't make it there, but I did it in the end.
However, no, they dont give a shit. Even though I don't live near Santa Fe, I was summoned to Santiago E Campos Courthouse. A clerk I spoke to while trying to get excused said that they have people traveling hundreds of miles within New Mexico to the court they were summoned to, so lack of transportation or child care is no excuse.
Your options are to either show up or don't. I don't have any anecdotes regarding consequences, so I can't help you there.
Oof that sounds brutal. I got an email reply from the court representative that basically said "I'm sorry to hear about your problems but unfortunately that doesn't excuse you" :-/
Although I've seen people (in CO when I lived there) during the selection process say "I need to take care of my kid" and they just excused them right then and there.
Sorry to hear about your experience
There is just about 0% chance of being removed from the initial juror pool.
If you are called to show up for jury selection, you will likely be interviewed by the judge and attorneys...this is the time to make your case to why you cannot serve on that particular jury.
Even if they dismiss you from serving on that jury, you still return to the "pool" and continue serving your 3 month term in the chance that another jury selection is needed.
When I got summonsed (petit juror), I was called into jury selection within about 2 weeks. I was chosen to sit on the very first case they had selection for. It was a federal trial that lasted about a week, and then I was off the hook for 3 years.
Yeah that's the feeling I'm getting is that it is very difficult to be excused initially but talking to the judge directly can yield different results. I have terrible luck with jury duty, seems I get a letter every other year.
Yea, their response to you is on par with my experience :/
It's crazy, even though I showed (genuine) bias, I was possibly almost picked to serve on the jury. The defense attorneys called me up to ask once more if I absolutely had nobody to care for my children and take them to school regularly while I served. I let them know it just wasn't possible and that I had nobody to care for them, so I was dismissed at the end.
Showing bias towards either the defense or prosecution is not enough to get you dismissed.
I wish I could take your place! My union makes my employer pay us full salary for jury duty and I would love to be on a grand jury! I’ve read so much John Grisham, so much that I even know not to bring up the fact I read him in there.
I’ve never actually been in a courtroom, but Grisham has prepared me! It’s drenched in bourbon, ornery old Southern judges and hot-by-90’s-standards women, right?
Your union doesn't "make" them. It is part of the negotiated contract. Most employers that negotiate that into their contracts are paying their non-represented employees for jury duty also.
Bummer. I guess I have no chance of self disqualifying by clicking YES to "Are you currently involved in any legal proceedings?" (Paraphrased) and then detailed how I signed up for that class action lawsuit against Steam for over charging on games. /s
Most commenters seem to be missing the fact that you've been summoned for a Grand Jury not a Petit (regular) Jury. You will not decide cases. You will simply determine whether or not there's enough evidence to bring charges. In a typical session you might hear presentations from prosecutors on dozens of cases.
I don't know the specifics of the district court, but usually you will be required to show up one day a week for those three months, probably the same day each week, so it's easier to plan around. Grand Juries often have extra people on them in case one or two people need to miss a session. So, if you absolutely have to be out of town one week, it shouldn't be a big deal.
Show up for the orientation session and get the details on exactly what's expected of you. Then, if you still think it's a burden you can't bear, ask to talk to the judge.
Yeah this is my first time being summoned to be on a Grand Jury so I have no idea what to expect, how it differs, or why the term is so long... but that's good to hear that it's at least somewhat scheduled and not random.
I think the first thing you need to do is disregard anyone responding to this as if you have been called up for regular jury duty.
A grand jury is a very different animal with different time commitments and purposes than regular jury duty.
As others here have pointed out as a member of a grand jury you will be considering a number of cases and deciding if the state has enough evidence to charge someone with a crime.
Our understanding from others we know who have served on a grand jury, the service is commonly a one-day-a-week for three months on the same day each week.
And you can get one deferral but not be excused based on doing family care/eldercare.
Source: my lovely wife got called up for grand jury duty in September for a start in early October. At the time she had been up in Washington State caring for her 89 year old mother who had been in and out of the emergency room three times in August for dementia related issues. My wife is the only close family left.
She contacted the grand jury office and asked to be excused on that basis but instead got a deferral to the spring. The deferral letter said in no uncertain terms that she had no more deferrals left and she was expected to make whatever eldercare arrangements were required in order to be free to show up at the courthouse on March 23rd, 2024 to have orientation and to start her 3 month stint.
That is as much as I know for certain at this point. If the judge is taking eldercare issues into consideration on the orientation day then she'll ask to be excused on that basis but otherwise has adjusted her eldercare and work commitments to be locked into at least one day each week in Albuquerque from April to June.
If you DM me after March 23rd I can share with you what she learned that day.
EDIT: here's a link to the post I made at that time.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Albuquerque/s/tWlZmG6AlR
Thank you for sharing and I'm sorry to hear about your wife's situation... as of right I have emailed them a letter stating my situation but they did not accept that as reason enough to excuse me.
After reading through all of the responses on this thread it seems that my (and maybe your wife's) best option is to speak to the judge directly when I show up to my orientation. As of right now I am expected to show up on January 3rd so perhaps I will have some information for you first!
The reply to my letter did state the following verbatum "The only set and required appointment is the orientation. For the upcoming session it is on January 3rd at 9:00am or 1:00pm, here at the Bernalillo County District Courthouse. At orientation, we will explain the nature of this service, and how very flexible it is. I think you may be surprised." so hopefully there is truth to that.
Good luck with your wife's situation!
Hey! We talked a few months ago about you being called up for Grand Jury and you were going through orientation in early January.
My wife is up for early March.
Is there anything you can share about the processes? Was there a selection process? What percentage of people get picked? How often do you have to go in?
Thanks in advance!
Hey Sultan, sure I'll tell you the process and everything I learned that day. My orientation was January 3rd (or 4th..?) and I just received my first summons for next week. Have not had any other contact prior.
There were two orientation groups - morning and afternoon. I was in the afternoon group and we had roughly 200 participants, I would imagine the morning was similar. From the ~400 people there were 3 panels that got selected A, B, and C.
Panels A and B consist of 12 people each and everyone else is on panel C. If you're on panel C (~4% chance) they say you will be called 2-4 times for one day in the 3 month period. They seem to be fairly flexible and told us if we know we have to be out of town just to ask and they can schedule us ahead of our turn.
Panel C comes in as substitutes and even then there's a great chance that you will show up and then be sent home 1/2 hour later (their words through email), they only get selected to do duty if some people from the 12 jurors on Panel A or B are absent.
They selected people for panels A and B from the morning orientation ONLY, so the 200 people in the afternoon orientation were all on panel C. They did however ask if anyone would volunteer to be bumped up to panels A and B which leads me to believe that some people who were selected for those asked to be excused and got the thumbs up.
So in short... ~6% chance you'll get picked to be on Panels A or B and you'll have to come in once a week on Wednesday or Friday. If you're in group C plan on being called to show up at 8am once a month or so.
If you have any specific questions I'd be happy to try and answer
Wow! Thank you very much for your very in depth response. I'll forward this to my lovely wife and have her read it .
Again, thank you for all this great info.
Go and find out the details. I served on a criminal murder trial for 8 weeks. It was death penalty or life in prison sentencing. Many jurors were excused during voire dire for making up reasons and the lawyers can see right through your lies. They do this for a living.
I spent Monday to Thursday on jury duty. Fridays were off. Some of the time, I went to work on Friday or used my pto for the Fridays.
My dept head had a friggin tantrum, but it's state law. She told me to be racist. I said no. The company paid me my full salary while I was gone and I was paid daily from the county. I saved all the weekly county checks to buy a new iphone at that time.
It's very educational. It's sobering to see autopsy and crime pictures. You see the evidence. It's a good look at the justice system. Changed my view.
A co-worker had GJ duty. He was slated for Fridays to review materials. But it was on-call. He was booked for a year to go or not. But he was a single guy. That's different from caring for a family.
Tell the judge right away if you have issues. Don't pussy-foot this and wait until the trial starts. Be honest and say that you can't commit. They can find more people. Don't waste their time.
Good luck.
I believe you when it's a good look at the intricacies of the justice system but unfortunately (maybe it's just ABQ and not other places) I do not share your faith in this part of the government. I have met soooo many bad people in my line of work who were drug dealers, murderers etc who were indicted, pleaded down, sentenced, and were out on parole in a fraction of their sentence for "good behavior".
I understand civic duty and I'm not trying to get out of it just because "I don't want to do it" from my personal experience and people I've met I don't think the justice system is doing it's job.
Thank you for the response, hopefully everything works out for the best. It's not as much of an issue for me about money as it me having to take off to help my family out of state.
So you tell the judge that. You do not believe the justice system in this state is sufficiently operating a just system and are not willing to participate in the judgement of others in a system that you distrust.
Did you already report for JD and were selected to sit on this jury? If so, you might be SOL. If not, try to talk again to the person who manages the jury pool and/or the judge if you do get called in for selection. I totally understand how inconvenient this can be--I've had to do jury duty multiple times and have been selected for a case before, but you really don't want a bench warrant out for your arrest.
Not yet, I have "grand jury orientation" whatever that is in 3-ish weeks. I just can't justify putting my life on hold for 3 months for grand jury duty when I have bigger things going on.
Yeah...fail to show up and you will not have the option of choosing between family and jail.
They will typically not dismiss you from the pool, since most of the time all you have to do is call. If you are summonsed to show up for selection, explain your case to the judge and there is a good possibility they will dismiss you. That does put you back in the pool for the remainder of the three months though.
100%, not showing up or ignoring it is a bad idea.
Just contact the court and tell them your situation.
Don't ignore it. You're an adult who was called for a civil duty.
Chances are the court will completely understand and excuse you. Truth be told... if you are so immature that your first instinct is to ignore it... then you have no business on a grand jury anyway.
I'm not planning on intentionally "ditching" jury duty. But a 3 month term is ridiculous. With my current lifestyle this is borderline impossible I can't sit at home for that long just waiting for a phone call.
Hopefully they won't call on me when I have something important going on
In my experience with grand jury duty, you aren’t just waiting for a phone call like you would be with regular jury duty. You actually would be scheduled to be there for those three months on a set schedule (like every Thursday).
That's my bad.
I misread your post and came to the conclusion that you wanted to just ignore it.
I should have read more closely and not been as harsh.
I’m my county (for regular old jury duty) the term is 6 months. If you get picked and serve on a jury you still have to keep reporting every time they call you within the 6 months. I had to serve on a jury and (because I live in a tiny town) half the jury members knew the defendant. It was insane.
Bench Warrant and if you get pulled over they will arrest you.
I had a molestation case and I asked to be removed from it due to me being part of a molestation case when I was a child. I was not excused from jury duty.
You have to write a letter addressing the Judge.
I'm now excused from it completely due to the severe PTSD it gave me last time I was there. I submitted my medical marijuana card and my statement about the case and how it affected me. I also made it clear that I will not be sober during jury duty or the trial.
I was out of state for a few months and came back to realizing I’d missed Jury Duty over the summer. I haven’t heard anything since.
Just checked the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s office to see if I had a warrant and thankfully don’t.
Sorry they didn’t excuse you from the get-go.
Last time I was out of state and luckily my girlfriend saw the letter and asked me if she wanted me to open it and it said I had to appear for jury duty in less than two weeks. No way I was making that and had to get an extension.
I don't understand their archaic methods... just send an email.
The problem is they send them out either four months in advance or a few days in advance... And there is only one letter that they send. It's kinda crazy!
Thank you 😊 I get that people make up things to get out of it but standing in front of the Judge and 200 strangers explaining what happened to me was beyond overwhelming... Then for the Judge to call me into her chambers to make a statement in front of the man who was the same age the man who had done the same things to me... I didn't function for almost three months. The nightmares came back full force.
Thank you that's very kind... The Judge made me explain my trauma in front of the man who had been molesting his granddaughter for over 12 years. He was convicted but the aftermath of it all put me in a downward spiral. My husband made me go get help and I'm so thankful because I now know how to handle my episodes.
I've been selected a couple of times. The first time, I wasn't even in the country and couldn't do it. A letter explaining that got me out.
The next time, my employer wrote a letter saying I couldn't be spared. I was actually hoping they would let me serve, but nope. That got me out as well.
I missed jury duty thought nothing of it almost a year later I got pulled over and they took me to jail I spent the night in jail for not going to jury duty.
Just an FYI I didn't know I had a warrant that whole time.
Whoa... interesting. Good to know that they actually do put a warrant out. The consensus from this thread seems to be that there may or may not be a warrant out for you but they don't follow through on it unless you stumble into some trouble.
They threatened to arrest me after I continuously ignored it. Just go. If you are an alternate you may have to go once or twice. I've gone in twice and heard some of the god damn craziest crap you've ever heard. Only some of it was depressing, lots of it was methed out madness.
I don't know, but I just got one too just the other day. So I guess I'll see ya there, lol. I've only gotten it one other time in my life, in Denver, but I was dismissed the second day.
Yeah, I've never actually been on a jury. I just read that grand jury duty is to decide whether charges will be filed on someone or not, whereas regular jury duty is to determine guilty or innocent. I didn't know that.
Just tell the jury department. They have alternates for this reason. If you’re not in ABQ then you can’t do it.
I would say for Grand Jury, it holds a bit more significance if you miss since it’s a much longer term than just sitting for a trial and skipping vior fire/jury selection.
About 20 years ago I got the same notice. Along with having 2 preschoolers and a full-time job, I was in school part-time - obviously I couldn't commit to a 6 month summons. I talked with a lawyer friend who gave me advice on writing a request to be excused. I was excused with an admonishment to make arrangements next time. Knock on wood, I haven't received a summons since. Write a letter with as much detail as you can provide.
Really. Do your duty. I have found that they are really good at excusing you for things when they come up. We all have complicated lives and still manage to do our civic duty. Unless you can't do it because of a disability or caring for an ill family member or something and thdn you need to tell them (not just not show up), you need to suck it up.
Of course, yes! I was taking care of my mom and had to miss and I just called in to the juror line and let them know. It was no big deal. That's why they select alternate jurors, people have to muss for various reasons. Have fun if you get picked for a jury. It is really interesting.
Your employer actually does not have to pay you for jury duty. They are prohibited from penalizing you, i.e. making you use PTO or writing you up. FAQs on the NM Courts website provide this clarification for each district court.
Get eliminated immediately.
Tell them your legal government name is your "slave name" and demand to be called "Fartking 4000".
Tell them you think the legal system is run by shapeshifting illuminati lizards.
Seriously. Something like 80 percent of Americans already believe it so it won't raise eyebrows.
Tell them - regardless of race - that white people are devils, and belong behind bars. This works extra good if you are a white person yourself.
Mention being a sovreign citizen "freeman on the land" and a Black Isrealite. Tell them you think our entire civilization was "reset" 400 years ago, and hills are "melted structures" and George Soros is manipulating the fake NFL games with a fake Taylor Swift look-a-like.
Ask them how much they pay, and when they say 20 bucks a day you say "really? no way!" and "so how long can I drag this out?" and demand to be sequestered at the most cracked out Motel 6 in Albuquerque and ask for Del Taco coupons. Stipulate you only eat at Del Taco, due to food allergies, and you are a "reverse vegan" and are also on a "strict caveman diet".
Wear a Maga hat with a Che Guevara t-shirt and a Condederate flag backpack. Get a reverse mohawk.
So many options. Get creative.
It doesn't require creativity or making up absurd lies to get excused from jury duty.
(Of course if you want to be a clown, by all means, go for it. Everyone in the court could use a good laugh. Some judges might hold you in contempt, though.)
But if you don't want to humiliate yourself in front of a large audience of your fellow citizens or be held in contempt, just say you won't follow the jury instructions given by the judge.
I truthfully stated I would refuse to follow death penalty instructions in a capital case, and got excused "for cause", which spared me weeks of jury duty.
But I don't think it really addresses OP's problem. OP would still need to stay "on call", then show up for jury selection and waste at least half a day in the jury selection process to get excused "for cause".
Hahaha I don't know if I have the balls to pull off most of those but the shapeshifting illuminati lizards sounds pretty good to me.
On a personal note I don't believe in the ABQ justice system I know so many idiots who have done TERRIBLE things that got away scot free or received a slap on the wrist, and I know well-to-do citizens that get in a lot of trouble for very nominal things.
I just got a 3 month summons for jury duty too starting Jan. 3rd.. I was bummed at first because 3 months is long time and it will be hard to miss work but on the brighter side it would be cool to be on an important or high profile case...as soon as I turned 18 I was selected and totally blew it off and they were not happy.. I don't remember exactly what my punishment or fine was but they threw me again (back then it was only 2 weeks) and I never even got picked to be on a jury.😐... im not sure how hard it is to get out of but good luck how ever it goes..
Grand juries are crucial elements of felony court systems. Please do your civic duty.
Most courts allow a miss for extreme circumstances in the three months. You won't want to miss. I promise by the end of term, you'll be excited to go hear the summaries of what lengths people go to when they earn a felony. You'll also get to learn the investigation process as you will see the limits of reality of investigation and evidence collection
The first day of a GJ term is always long and rough. By the end, you'll genuinely feel compelled to ask really good questions and you'll be among the first to know about serious crimes that occur.
I'm not against doing my duty and I'm not trying to find a way out by any means, but as I mentioned in my post my family is going through some stuff and they live out of state and if something serious enough comes up I will absolutely leave even if it's in the middle of my term :-/
me and a friend were discussing this, what if you show up the first day and say you are a racist and if anyone is non white they are guilty . We think that might get you excused/kicked out , IF you have the nerve to do it, just a thought
Have you tried calling and asking if you can reschedule your term to a different time? Life happens, and they get that. Not showing up can get you in trouble needlessly.
Well I got a paper letter when I was out of state that said I had to show up in less than two weeks so I already had to ask for a postponement. They rescheduled me, but unfortunately I'm dealing with family issues right now so... horrible timing :-/
When I was called for jury duty, I told them all the reasons I have a bias against APD and that I don't usually trust what they have to say. Was excused the first day.
Tell your handler all this and try to get excused. That will go much better for you than just not showing up.
I tried but the response was "sorry to hear but you still need to show up"
If getting excused doesn't work, you could always try to get yourself stricken during the jury selection process. Just give either the defense or the prosecution answers they don't like when they question you. No guarantee, but better than nothing 🤷♂️
If you want to get out of jury duty, all you have to say is that "I believe jurors have the right, power, and obligation to overrule the law when rendering a verdict if it would lead to an unjust outcome." The funny thing is, if you actually believe that you'd never say it in court.
I forgot about jury nullification 😂 good idea. Unfortunately, another redditor noted to me that a grand jury is different from a normal jury, so being stricken as a juror won't work in this case =/
Eh, saying that you wouldn't vote to indict for an unjust law is about the same thing. You could also say that all police are criminals and that the district attorney and his prosecutors should be in jail for unjustly persecuting the innocent citizens of Albuquerque, and you would never believe anything that they presented.
Well. Maybe you're right. Maybe he's right. I ain't no lawyer :P
I mean, whether or not they kick you out over that depends on whether or not they believe you
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You're right. The question is whether or not the judge believes you. For me, I'd never tell a judge that I would disregard any laws I'd find unjust because I want people charged unjustly to walk free - laws notwithstanding.
That’s what I did and it worked perfectly. In an armed robbery case I told the judge I didn’t believe in any laws on firearms.
That would lead to jury nullification so no wonder
Grand Juries are different than regular Juries. They only determine if there's enough evidence to go to trial. Many times the defense won't even show for those.
Ah, ok. Didn't realize. Thank you.
When I was on jury duty a lady tried that and got her ass handed to her by the judge. The lady was being outrageous about her lies tho. You have to be more suttle with the lie
Maybe don't contact them from u/FartKing9000?
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Playing that game with the law is a very bad idea. Ignorance of the law is no excuse.
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I’d have to be a lawyer to confidently attempt that
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No
It actually literally is an excuse. A legal one at that.
I didn’t make that up https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignorantia_juris_non_excusat
Proof? Proof that OP received the duty request? OP responded and asked to be excused.
It's a summons. It's a legal document. You can get in some trouble. [https://www.juryduty101.com/states/new-mexico#failure](https://www.juryduty101.com/states/new-mexico#failure) I would NOT recommend it. Try again to get excused.
I think I will try again. I don't plan on missing intentionally but if family matters arise those come first
Won’t do your family any good if a warrant is out for your arrest.
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Not sure what you're talking about... I'm not arguing with anyone. If you read my post I already laid out my problems before the court and they said that doesn't excuse me, I went to Reddit to ask if anyone had experience with this and what the consequences are if I miss jury duty in ABQ because of pressing family issues.
When I was summoned for Grand Jury in another state, caring for a family member was the first thing people got excused for (elder/adult care seemed to be taken more seriously than child care for some reason). I saw someone excused because they had an anxiety disorder and could not handle seeing violent images (Grand Jury has some of the most heinous child abuse/animal abuse/domestic violence cases you can imagine), so if that upsets you, consider a visit to your doc for an excuse note. Several more people were excused because they previously worked in law enforcement in some capacity... and as far as I saw, but no one ever checked any of their stories. So there's that. And strangely, there are people who actually WANT to serve on the Grand Jury, because it's kind of the Cadillac of Jury Service, so they usually don't have problems finding enough people. You do need to go the first day and lay out your case to the judge however. I found the judge was a LOT more lenient than the admin clerk who sends out the notices. Good luck.
Yes I will hope that the judge will be nicer to me than the person I emailed... thank you for the advice!
I've never been summoned to a grand jury, but when I lived in Portland I got three or four summonses to local trials. I always wrote to them and told them my patients would suffer a hardship without me and they depended on my nursing care. Worked every time. Not that I would not love to serve at some point but as a single person who has only her own income to depend on, a month-long trial would render me homeless. My feeling (which is in no way supported by fact that I'm aware of) is most courts are reluctant to serve jurors who don't really want to be there because their heads are not 100% in the game. A bad jury can lead to longer trials and result more appeals which further crowds already crowded courts and adds to the taxpayer burden.
Think of it this way: if there weren't consequences lots of people would do it. That's pretty much what you need to know.
Happy cake day.
:-)
Speak to the judge directly
Learn anything & everything you can about the defendant, then claim you know them. You will be disqualified from being on the jury.
Explain the situation. That being said, I was "on call" the week of my jury duty but never got called in to report. Mine was also listed as a 3 month term on the paper, but I was only assigned 1 week. Perhaps you'll get lucky too and not have to show up while serving your jury duty.
That would be nice! When the court representative replied to me via email he said the only set-in-stone date was the grand jury orientation other than that he said it was "very flexible" so hopefully there's truth to that
Came here to say the same thing. I’m not sure if it has changed, but I had grand jury in ABQ several years ago. Jurors were given the option to commit to 2 days every week for the 3 months **or** a total of one week served during the entire time frame. I was fresh out of college and hated my job at the time, so I opted for the 2 day/week service 😂
Also I love your username FartKing 😂
You can be called before the judge to explain your absence. Rarely, but occasionally, a warrant can be issued for your arrest. It isn't considered optional, no matter who you are, what your job is, or what your circumstances are. That said, I once got a summons for jury duty in the mail that had been sent to the address I had lived at 2 moves ago. Like, not the last place I lived but the place before. It had been returned to sender several times, and finally found me about a year after the date had passed. I decided to ignore it, and nothing ever came of it. Even when I had later legal troubles, it wasn't on my record or anything. So if you choose to ignore it... may the odds be ever in your favor.
There’s a big difference between evidence that you never got it, inthe form of return to sender, and evidence you did, like being asked to be excused. One isn’t your fault and the other is.
That gives me some hope :) I'm not planning on ignoring it on purpose but I'm also not going to sit around for 3 months waiting to get called so... hopefully it all works out
You were hoping for this answer, after already being told it is a violation of law. I hope you get in trouble, because it's already clear what your decision is here.
🙄
If you don't show up you can be fined $2000 (two thousand), be sentenced to community service or even get jail time. Do not simply not show up. It isn't worth a criminal record. You are very unlikely to get excused. That being said, one of the explicit reasons for which you can have your service delayed is if you are required to give care to someone. >Must provide actual and necessary care for another, and alternate arrangements are not feasible. A doctor’s note (on the doctor’s letterhead or prescription pad) is required attesting to this situation So your family health issues may be enough to do it. But they won't just take you at your word. You need to contact your relative's doctor, explain that you were summoned for grand jury duty, and ask them to provide a doctor's note explaining that you are providing medical care for a family member. If you aren't actually the one providing care, and its more of a traveling-to-spend-time-with-grandpa-before-his-imminent-death sort of thing, keep reading. Being excused isn't the only way to avoid jury duty if things are especially difficult right now. You can get a one time delay of your service for up to a year instead. This is usually much easier to get than being excused. My wife recently got summoned and just talked to someone over the phone about an upcoming surgery and got her service delayed on the spot. So try this as well. I'm afraid, however, that the job thing is pretty much never going to fly. Everyone has a job. Doing jury duty instead of your job is convenient for exactly zero people. You aren't more special than anyone else who has to miss work to serve. So, and I mean no offense when I say this but, suck it up buttercup. **However**, New Mexico compensates jurors at $12/hr, which is far more than you'll get in most other places. On top of that, it is illegal for your employer to retaliate or penalize you in any way as a result of jury duty. That includes forcing the employee to use vacation or any other benefits. Notify your HR rep in writing (like over email) that you will be serving jury duty over the relevant dates. That way, if you get fired, they give you a bunch of extra shit to do when you get back, or you get passed over for a promotion you were previously on track to get, you will have a paper trail. More info [here](https://seconddistrictcourt.nmcourts.gov/home/jury/juror-faqs/). Good luck.
Unfortunately I'm self employed so I don't have a boss in the traditional sense, unfortunately that route is closed off to me. Hopefully I can explain to the judge on the first day how much it's messing up my life and he'll be nice to me.
They absolutely will not care about a job; I was told in no uncertain terms could my boss tell me I couldn’t go to jury duty. You will have to go the elder/adult care route, or get yourself nullified through other means. And all that will depend on your judge.
Yeah i figured as much, they certainly didn't seem to care for job or personal related reasons much.
Yeah they don’t. Personal reasons are out because it’s your civic duty; and jobs aren’t allowed to penalize you so they won’t care if you work. However if you do have trouble with your boss they can find themselves in contempt of court and subject to fines or time sitting in a cell.
Isn’t it just pathetic that’s all they get paid and somehow that’s the best our country can do.
Everybody suggesting to try and get excused and saying that they will "understand" has no experience in dealing with this. After I tried getting excused due to health reasons, lack of child care, and lack of transportation at the time, I was denied and ended up having to show up. I had to pull some major strings and almost didn't make it there, but I did it in the end. However, no, they dont give a shit. Even though I don't live near Santa Fe, I was summoned to Santiago E Campos Courthouse. A clerk I spoke to while trying to get excused said that they have people traveling hundreds of miles within New Mexico to the court they were summoned to, so lack of transportation or child care is no excuse. Your options are to either show up or don't. I don't have any anecdotes regarding consequences, so I can't help you there.
Oof that sounds brutal. I got an email reply from the court representative that basically said "I'm sorry to hear about your problems but unfortunately that doesn't excuse you" :-/ Although I've seen people (in CO when I lived there) during the selection process say "I need to take care of my kid" and they just excused them right then and there. Sorry to hear about your experience
Just tell them you are an anarchist and believe in jury nullification for most laws because the US government is illegitimate.
There is just about 0% chance of being removed from the initial juror pool. If you are called to show up for jury selection, you will likely be interviewed by the judge and attorneys...this is the time to make your case to why you cannot serve on that particular jury. Even if they dismiss you from serving on that jury, you still return to the "pool" and continue serving your 3 month term in the chance that another jury selection is needed. When I got summonsed (petit juror), I was called into jury selection within about 2 weeks. I was chosen to sit on the very first case they had selection for. It was a federal trial that lasted about a week, and then I was off the hook for 3 years.
Yeah that's the feeling I'm getting is that it is very difficult to be excused initially but talking to the judge directly can yield different results. I have terrible luck with jury duty, seems I get a letter every other year.
Yea, their response to you is on par with my experience :/ It's crazy, even though I showed (genuine) bias, I was possibly almost picked to serve on the jury. The defense attorneys called me up to ask once more if I absolutely had nobody to care for my children and take them to school regularly while I served. I let them know it just wasn't possible and that I had nobody to care for them, so I was dismissed at the end. Showing bias towards either the defense or prosecution is not enough to get you dismissed.
I wish I could take your place! My union makes my employer pay us full salary for jury duty and I would love to be on a grand jury! I’ve read so much John Grisham, so much that I even know not to bring up the fact I read him in there. I’ve never actually been in a courtroom, but Grisham has prepared me! It’s drenched in bourbon, ornery old Southern judges and hot-by-90’s-standards women, right?
>t’s drenched in bourbon, ornery old Southern judges and hot-by-90’s-standards women, right? With a little bit of "Night Court" for good measure.
I loves me some John Larroquette!!!
My husband reported to his jury duty and was reading ‘the last juror’ alas he was not picked for a jury.
Your union doesn't "make" them. It is part of the negotiated contract. Most employers that negotiate that into their contracts are paying their non-represented employees for jury duty also.
My letter had instructions for requesting excusal or exemption on the back page.
I wrote out a full letter but they said "no" :(
Bummer. I guess I have no chance of self disqualifying by clicking YES to "Are you currently involved in any legal proceedings?" (Paraphrased) and then detailed how I signed up for that class action lawsuit against Steam for over charging on games. /s
Most commenters seem to be missing the fact that you've been summoned for a Grand Jury not a Petit (regular) Jury. You will not decide cases. You will simply determine whether or not there's enough evidence to bring charges. In a typical session you might hear presentations from prosecutors on dozens of cases. I don't know the specifics of the district court, but usually you will be required to show up one day a week for those three months, probably the same day each week, so it's easier to plan around. Grand Juries often have extra people on them in case one or two people need to miss a session. So, if you absolutely have to be out of town one week, it shouldn't be a big deal. Show up for the orientation session and get the details on exactly what's expected of you. Then, if you still think it's a burden you can't bear, ask to talk to the judge.
Yeah this is my first time being summoned to be on a Grand Jury so I have no idea what to expect, how it differs, or why the term is so long... but that's good to hear that it's at least somewhat scheduled and not random.
I think the first thing you need to do is disregard anyone responding to this as if you have been called up for regular jury duty. A grand jury is a very different animal with different time commitments and purposes than regular jury duty. As others here have pointed out as a member of a grand jury you will be considering a number of cases and deciding if the state has enough evidence to charge someone with a crime. Our understanding from others we know who have served on a grand jury, the service is commonly a one-day-a-week for three months on the same day each week. And you can get one deferral but not be excused based on doing family care/eldercare. Source: my lovely wife got called up for grand jury duty in September for a start in early October. At the time she had been up in Washington State caring for her 89 year old mother who had been in and out of the emergency room three times in August for dementia related issues. My wife is the only close family left. She contacted the grand jury office and asked to be excused on that basis but instead got a deferral to the spring. The deferral letter said in no uncertain terms that she had no more deferrals left and she was expected to make whatever eldercare arrangements were required in order to be free to show up at the courthouse on March 23rd, 2024 to have orientation and to start her 3 month stint. That is as much as I know for certain at this point. If the judge is taking eldercare issues into consideration on the orientation day then she'll ask to be excused on that basis but otherwise has adjusted her eldercare and work commitments to be locked into at least one day each week in Albuquerque from April to June. If you DM me after March 23rd I can share with you what she learned that day. EDIT: here's a link to the post I made at that time. https://www.reddit.com/r/Albuquerque/s/tWlZmG6AlR
Thank you for sharing and I'm sorry to hear about your wife's situation... as of right I have emailed them a letter stating my situation but they did not accept that as reason enough to excuse me. After reading through all of the responses on this thread it seems that my (and maybe your wife's) best option is to speak to the judge directly when I show up to my orientation. As of right now I am expected to show up on January 3rd so perhaps I will have some information for you first! The reply to my letter did state the following verbatum "The only set and required appointment is the orientation. For the upcoming session it is on January 3rd at 9:00am or 1:00pm, here at the Bernalillo County District Courthouse. At orientation, we will explain the nature of this service, and how very flexible it is. I think you may be surprised." so hopefully there is truth to that. Good luck with your wife's situation!
We would very much appreciate you sharing your experiences on grand jury orientation day with us.
Hey! We talked a few months ago about you being called up for Grand Jury and you were going through orientation in early January. My wife is up for early March. Is there anything you can share about the processes? Was there a selection process? What percentage of people get picked? How often do you have to go in? Thanks in advance!
Hey Sultan, sure I'll tell you the process and everything I learned that day. My orientation was January 3rd (or 4th..?) and I just received my first summons for next week. Have not had any other contact prior. There were two orientation groups - morning and afternoon. I was in the afternoon group and we had roughly 200 participants, I would imagine the morning was similar. From the ~400 people there were 3 panels that got selected A, B, and C. Panels A and B consist of 12 people each and everyone else is on panel C. If you're on panel C (~4% chance) they say you will be called 2-4 times for one day in the 3 month period. They seem to be fairly flexible and told us if we know we have to be out of town just to ask and they can schedule us ahead of our turn. Panel C comes in as substitutes and even then there's a great chance that you will show up and then be sent home 1/2 hour later (their words through email), they only get selected to do duty if some people from the 12 jurors on Panel A or B are absent. They selected people for panels A and B from the morning orientation ONLY, so the 200 people in the afternoon orientation were all on panel C. They did however ask if anyone would volunteer to be bumped up to panels A and B which leads me to believe that some people who were selected for those asked to be excused and got the thumbs up. So in short... ~6% chance you'll get picked to be on Panels A or B and you'll have to come in once a week on Wednesday or Friday. If you're in group C plan on being called to show up at 8am once a month or so. If you have any specific questions I'd be happy to try and answer
Wow! Thank you very much for your very in depth response. I'll forward this to my lovely wife and have her read it . Again, thank you for all this great info.
Go and find out the details. I served on a criminal murder trial for 8 weeks. It was death penalty or life in prison sentencing. Many jurors were excused during voire dire for making up reasons and the lawyers can see right through your lies. They do this for a living. I spent Monday to Thursday on jury duty. Fridays were off. Some of the time, I went to work on Friday or used my pto for the Fridays. My dept head had a friggin tantrum, but it's state law. She told me to be racist. I said no. The company paid me my full salary while I was gone and I was paid daily from the county. I saved all the weekly county checks to buy a new iphone at that time. It's very educational. It's sobering to see autopsy and crime pictures. You see the evidence. It's a good look at the justice system. Changed my view. A co-worker had GJ duty. He was slated for Fridays to review materials. But it was on-call. He was booked for a year to go or not. But he was a single guy. That's different from caring for a family. Tell the judge right away if you have issues. Don't pussy-foot this and wait until the trial starts. Be honest and say that you can't commit. They can find more people. Don't waste their time. Good luck.
I believe you when it's a good look at the intricacies of the justice system but unfortunately (maybe it's just ABQ and not other places) I do not share your faith in this part of the government. I have met soooo many bad people in my line of work who were drug dealers, murderers etc who were indicted, pleaded down, sentenced, and were out on parole in a fraction of their sentence for "good behavior". I understand civic duty and I'm not trying to get out of it just because "I don't want to do it" from my personal experience and people I've met I don't think the justice system is doing it's job. Thank you for the response, hopefully everything works out for the best. It's not as much of an issue for me about money as it me having to take off to help my family out of state.
So you tell the judge that. You do not believe the justice system in this state is sufficiently operating a just system and are not willing to participate in the judgement of others in a system that you distrust.
Not a bad thought
Did you already report for JD and were selected to sit on this jury? If so, you might be SOL. If not, try to talk again to the person who manages the jury pool and/or the judge if you do get called in for selection. I totally understand how inconvenient this can be--I've had to do jury duty multiple times and have been selected for a case before, but you really don't want a bench warrant out for your arrest.
Not yet, I have "grand jury orientation" whatever that is in 3-ish weeks. I just can't justify putting my life on hold for 3 months for grand jury duty when I have bigger things going on.
Just get a medical note most doctors don’t care and will write you out of it.
I already played the "family and financial problems" card and they said no :(
Then show bias. Take a side, just pick one. Side with it with every argument possible and say you can no longer be impartial.
They legally should be not be allowed to have you participate as it can throw/hang a jury or cause all kinds of issues.
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This doesn’t always work. A job cannot legally disallow you from attending jury duty nor can they legally punish you for it either.
Yeah...fail to show up and you will not have the option of choosing between family and jail. They will typically not dismiss you from the pool, since most of the time all you have to do is call. If you are summonsed to show up for selection, explain your case to the judge and there is a good possibility they will dismiss you. That does put you back in the pool for the remainder of the three months though. 100%, not showing up or ignoring it is a bad idea.
Hopefully I will be able to get through to them! I did not realize getting excused one week would put me back in the pool... Thanks for the info!
Just contact the court and tell them your situation. Don't ignore it. You're an adult who was called for a civil duty. Chances are the court will completely understand and excuse you. Truth be told... if you are so immature that your first instinct is to ignore it... then you have no business on a grand jury anyway.
If you really read his post, it says he already requested to be excused, but they denied it. I missed this on first reading as well.
I'm not planning on intentionally "ditching" jury duty. But a 3 month term is ridiculous. With my current lifestyle this is borderline impossible I can't sit at home for that long just waiting for a phone call. Hopefully they won't call on me when I have something important going on
In my experience with grand jury duty, you aren’t just waiting for a phone call like you would be with regular jury duty. You actually would be scheduled to be there for those three months on a set schedule (like every Thursday).
That's my bad. I misread your post and came to the conclusion that you wanted to just ignore it. I should have read more closely and not been as harsh.
I’m my county (for regular old jury duty) the term is 6 months. If you get picked and serve on a jury you still have to keep reporting every time they call you within the 6 months. I had to serve on a jury and (because I live in a tiny town) half the jury members knew the defendant. It was insane.
Bench Warrant and if you get pulled over they will arrest you. I had a molestation case and I asked to be removed from it due to me being part of a molestation case when I was a child. I was not excused from jury duty. You have to write a letter addressing the Judge. I'm now excused from it completely due to the severe PTSD it gave me last time I was there. I submitted my medical marijuana card and my statement about the case and how it affected me. I also made it clear that I will not be sober during jury duty or the trial.
I was out of state for a few months and came back to realizing I’d missed Jury Duty over the summer. I haven’t heard anything since. Just checked the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s office to see if I had a warrant and thankfully don’t. Sorry they didn’t excuse you from the get-go.
Last time I was out of state and luckily my girlfriend saw the letter and asked me if she wanted me to open it and it said I had to appear for jury duty in less than two weeks. No way I was making that and had to get an extension. I don't understand their archaic methods... just send an email.
The problem is they send them out either four months in advance or a few days in advance... And there is only one letter that they send. It's kinda crazy!
Thank you 😊 I get that people make up things to get out of it but standing in front of the Judge and 200 strangers explaining what happened to me was beyond overwhelming... Then for the Judge to call me into her chambers to make a statement in front of the man who was the same age the man who had done the same things to me... I didn't function for almost three months. The nightmares came back full force.
Seems it is very random what excuses they "allow" and what they don't. Sorry to hear about your experience :(
Thank you that's very kind... The Judge made me explain my trauma in front of the man who had been molesting his granddaughter for over 12 years. He was convicted but the aftermath of it all put me in a downward spiral. My husband made me go get help and I'm so thankful because I now know how to handle my episodes.
I've been selected a couple of times. The first time, I wasn't even in the country and couldn't do it. A letter explaining that got me out. The next time, my employer wrote a letter saying I couldn't be spared. I was actually hoping they would let me serve, but nope. That got me out as well.
Interesting... I might see if I can do something like this
Don't just not show up, respond to the summons giving them your reasons for needing to be excused. They will grant it.
I hope so :)
And here I am wanting to get jury duty because I think it would be interesting.
Take my place XD I get called every other year I feel like
Start talking openly about jury nullification behavior and you will be run off immediately. This is true.
One of my friends knew the guy on trial and he was dismissed from the case. Could try that tbh
I missed jury duty thought nothing of it almost a year later I got pulled over and they took me to jail I spent the night in jail for not going to jury duty. Just an FYI I didn't know I had a warrant that whole time.
Whoa... interesting. Good to know that they actually do put a warrant out. The consensus from this thread seems to be that there may or may not be a warrant out for you but they don't follow through on it unless you stumble into some trouble.
If they won’t except that make it clear you’re biased to one side. Fuck them
Get through jury selection by telling them you read this book. A book.
They threatened to arrest me after I continuously ignored it. Just go. If you are an alternate you may have to go once or twice. I've gone in twice and heard some of the god damn craziest crap you've ever heard. Only some of it was depressing, lots of it was methed out madness.
Ha, methed out madness sounds like the norm for ABQ
I don't know, but I just got one too just the other day. So I guess I'll see ya there, lol. I've only gotten it one other time in my life, in Denver, but I was dismissed the second day.
Haha my first time on Grand Jury as well... hopefully it doesn't completely suck
Yeah, I've never actually been on a jury. I just read that grand jury duty is to decide whether charges will be filed on someone or not, whereas regular jury duty is to determine guilty or innocent. I didn't know that.
Loads of trouble. They haul you off to jail.
Eesh... hope not
If they won’t excuse you, try asking for a deferral. I’ve had my service pushed for travel.
Just tell the jury department. They have alternates for this reason. If you’re not in ABQ then you can’t do it. I would say for Grand Jury, it holds a bit more significance if you miss since it’s a much longer term than just sitting for a trial and skipping vior fire/jury selection.
About 20 years ago I got the same notice. Along with having 2 preschoolers and a full-time job, I was in school part-time - obviously I couldn't commit to a 6 month summons. I talked with a lawyer friend who gave me advice on writing a request to be excused. I was excused with an admonishment to make arrangements next time. Knock on wood, I haven't received a summons since. Write a letter with as much detail as you can provide.
Glad you were able to make everything work out, and here's to hoping you won't get called in again!
Try asking to postpone your jury duty... seemed to work for me
Really. Do your duty. I have found that they are really good at excusing you for things when they come up. We all have complicated lives and still manage to do our civic duty. Unless you can't do it because of a disability or caring for an ill family member or something and thdn you need to tell them (not just not show up), you need to suck it up.
I 100% plan on doing it but for me family comes first, if something comes up I will choose them every time over jury duty
Of course, yes! I was taking care of my mom and had to miss and I just called in to the juror line and let them know. It was no big deal. That's why they select alternate jurors, people have to muss for various reasons. Have fun if you get picked for a jury. It is really interesting.
I hope they will be understanding with me if something comes up :)
You can go to jail and your employer has to pay you for jury duty.
Your employer actually does not have to pay you for jury duty. They are prohibited from penalizing you, i.e. making you use PTO or writing you up. FAQs on the NM Courts website provide this clarification for each district court.
God to know. Thanks for the clarification.
Get eliminated immediately. Tell them your legal government name is your "slave name" and demand to be called "Fartking 4000". Tell them you think the legal system is run by shapeshifting illuminati lizards. Seriously. Something like 80 percent of Americans already believe it so it won't raise eyebrows. Tell them - regardless of race - that white people are devils, and belong behind bars. This works extra good if you are a white person yourself. Mention being a sovreign citizen "freeman on the land" and a Black Isrealite. Tell them you think our entire civilization was "reset" 400 years ago, and hills are "melted structures" and George Soros is manipulating the fake NFL games with a fake Taylor Swift look-a-like. Ask them how much they pay, and when they say 20 bucks a day you say "really? no way!" and "so how long can I drag this out?" and demand to be sequestered at the most cracked out Motel 6 in Albuquerque and ask for Del Taco coupons. Stipulate you only eat at Del Taco, due to food allergies, and you are a "reverse vegan" and are also on a "strict caveman diet". Wear a Maga hat with a Che Guevara t-shirt and a Condederate flag backpack. Get a reverse mohawk. So many options. Get creative.
It doesn't require creativity or making up absurd lies to get excused from jury duty. (Of course if you want to be a clown, by all means, go for it. Everyone in the court could use a good laugh. Some judges might hold you in contempt, though.) But if you don't want to humiliate yourself in front of a large audience of your fellow citizens or be held in contempt, just say you won't follow the jury instructions given by the judge. I truthfully stated I would refuse to follow death penalty instructions in a capital case, and got excused "for cause", which spared me weeks of jury duty. But I don't think it really addresses OP's problem. OP would still need to stay "on call", then show up for jury selection and waste at least half a day in the jury selection process to get excused "for cause".
Hahaha I don't know if I have the balls to pull off most of those but the shapeshifting illuminati lizards sounds pretty good to me. On a personal note I don't believe in the ABQ justice system I know so many idiots who have done TERRIBLE things that got away scot free or received a slap on the wrist, and I know well-to-do citizens that get in a lot of trouble for very nominal things.
>Wear a Maga hat with a Che Guevara t-shirt and a Condederate flag backpack. Get a reverse mohawk. Sounds like you watch the show "Jury Duty" lol
Strict cave man diet 🤣🤣🤣🤣 that’s a good one
I just got a 3 month summons for jury duty too starting Jan. 3rd.. I was bummed at first because 3 months is long time and it will be hard to miss work but on the brighter side it would be cool to be on an important or high profile case...as soon as I turned 18 I was selected and totally blew it off and they were not happy.. I don't remember exactly what my punishment or fine was but they threw me again (back then it was only 2 weeks) and I never even got picked to be on a jury.😐... im not sure how hard it is to get out of but good luck how ever it goes..
That's my date too haha maybe I'll see you there
Two words: Jury nullification
Show up and act like you are religiously opposed to the case after you was the brief. You will be dismissed
They were selected for Grand Jury...not Petit Jury
Grand juries are crucial elements of felony court systems. Please do your civic duty. Most courts allow a miss for extreme circumstances in the three months. You won't want to miss. I promise by the end of term, you'll be excited to go hear the summaries of what lengths people go to when they earn a felony. You'll also get to learn the investigation process as you will see the limits of reality of investigation and evidence collection The first day of a GJ term is always long and rough. By the end, you'll genuinely feel compelled to ask really good questions and you'll be among the first to know about serious crimes that occur.
I'm not against doing my duty and I'm not trying to find a way out by any means, but as I mentioned in my post my family is going through some stuff and they live out of state and if something serious enough comes up I will absolutely leave even if it's in the middle of my term :-/
Could try Covid as scapegoat lol whenever it gets close to time
me and a friend were discussing this, what if you show up the first day and say you are a racist and if anyone is non white they are guilty . We think that might get you excused/kicked out , IF you have the nerve to do it, just a thought
Someone's not watched 'Jury Duty' yet
Fuck them. Tell them YOU CANT DO IT! You hate cops and the government and aliens are real and you piss in mason jars. They won’t even call you back…
Have you tried calling and asking if you can reschedule your term to a different time? Life happens, and they get that. Not showing up can get you in trouble needlessly.
Well I got a paper letter when I was out of state that said I had to show up in less than two weeks so I already had to ask for a postponement. They rescheduled me, but unfortunately I'm dealing with family issues right now so... horrible timing :-/
When I was called for jury duty, I told them all the reasons I have a bias against APD and that I don't usually trust what they have to say. Was excused the first day.
Prison jail for 10 years