JuryDuty101
Alabama - List of Jury Duty Excuses
Alabama - List of Jury Duty Excuses
Alabama - Getting Excused From Jury Duty
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| Jury Duty Excuses Chart For Alabama
| Situation | Jury Duty |
|---|---|
| Military |  |
| Elected Official | |
| Student |  |
| Breastfeeding Mother | |
| Police | |
| Medical Worker | |
| Firefighter | |
| Disablity | |
While jury duty is a civic requirement for all eligible citizens in Alabama, there are a number of excuses that can be used to legally get out of being required to report for jury selection or jury duty, or receive a deferral.
Alabama has a list of specific excuses that can be used to be exempt from reporting for jury duty, including excuses for military, elected official, breastfeeding, age, police, firefighter and disability. You can also be excused if you don't meet the basic eligibility requirements for jury duty in AL.
Generally, if you qualify for one of the statutory excuses, you can respond to your jury duty summons letter with an excuse note containing proof of your excuse, and you will not have to report for jury selection.
| Alabama Jury Duty Age Limit Excuse
Alabama has a statutory exemption that allows individuals over a certain age to request exemption from jury duty. An Alabama jury may be excused from jury service due to advanced age, at their request, if they are over age 70.
| Alabama Medical Jury Duty Excuse
In the state of Alabama, physicians, dentists, and nurses are exempt from jury duty.
| Alabama Firefighter Jury Duty Excuse
In the state of Alabama, volunteer firefighters are exempt from jury duty.
| Other Jury Duty Excuses in Alabama
To request a deferral from jury duty, you must submit a completed copy of your "Jury Information Form", with the request written out. All requests for jury duty deferral must be made in writing or online.
A prospective juror may be considered for exemption if they are:
- have active care of a child under age 10
- will be an actively engaged full time teacher at the time of jury service
- have active care of an infirm or aged individual whose safety or health would be jeopardized by your absence
- in the past two years, has served on more than one grand jury, actually served as a grand juror and a petit juror, or if you have actually attended court for service or prospective service as a petit juror for a total of more than twelve days.
You may also show some other reason that serving as a juror will cause a deal of hardship or inconvenience.
Can I Get Excused From Jury Duty Because I Work?
In Alabama, your employer is not allowed to penalize you for missing work for jury duty. Therefore, simply having a job isn't in itself enough to be excused from jury duty. However, some courts may excuse you if serving on a jury and missing work would cause undue hardship to either yourself or your employer.
Submitting A Jury Duty Excuse Letter
If you do not qualify for any of the Alabama statutory exemptions listed above but seriously think that attending jury selection would cause you undue hardship, you can always submit a jury duty excuse letter with your response to the summons, and ask to be excused. It will be at the discretion of the court that summoned you whether to accept or deny your excuse.
Remember - A Jury Selection Summons Doesn't Mean You'll Be On A Jury
Keep in mind that your initial jury duty summons is only for attending jury selection day, where it will be decided if you are to actually serve on a jury during the "Voir Dire" process. If you can't get out of attending jury selection, there are many ways to raise the odds that you will be excused after jury selection without being selected to serve on a jury.