JuryDuty101
Alaska - List of Jury Duty Excuses
Alaska - List of Jury Duty Excuses
Alaska - Getting Excused From Jury Duty
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| Jury Duty Excuses Chart For Alaska
| 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 Alaska, 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.
Alaska has a list of specific excuses that can be used to be exempt from reporting for jury duty, including excuses for student, breastfeeding, age and medical worker. You can also be excused if you don't meet the basic eligibility requirements for jury duty in AK.
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.
| Alaska Jury Duty Age Limit Excuse
Alaska has a statutory exemption that allows individuals over a certain age to request exemption from jury duty. In the state of Alaska, requests must be made in writing if asking to be permanently exempt from jury service if older than 70 years of age.
| Alaska Elected Offical Jury Duty Excuse
In the state of Alaska, elected officials are exempt from jury duty if the elected official's jury service summons is during the primary or general election month.
| Alaska Breast Feeding Mother Jury Duty Excuse
In the state of Alaska, jury service may be deferred for up to 10 months of the initial date, for reasons of: hardship, medical or physical conditions (doctor's statement attached), which is decided by discretion of the court.
| Alaska Medical Jury Duty Excuse
In the state of Alaska, government affiliated staff and ambulatory staff are exempt from jury duty.
| Other Jury Duty Excuses in Alaska
Certified teachers at low performing schools (as designated by DEED) may be excused from jury duty during the school term.
A lay person may claim exemption from service as a juror they show that their health, or the health or proper care of their family; or a permanent physical or mental disability, or other substantial hardship is expected to last more than 2 years and makes it necessary for the person to be excused.
Jury service may be deferred for up to 10 months of the initial date, for reasons of:
- hardship
- medical or physical conditions (doctor's statement attached)
- prior travel plans (provide exact dates but not itinerary)
- work obligations for financial reasons
- transportation problems
New date must be agreed upon before deferral may be granted.
All requests must be made in writing.
Can I Get Excused From Jury Duty Because I Work?
In Alaska, 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 Alaska 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.