JuryDuty101
Arizona - List of Jury Duty Excuses
Arizona - List of Jury Duty Excuses
Arizona - Getting Excused From Jury Duty
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| Jury Duty Excuses Chart For Arizona
| 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 Arizona, 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.
Arizona has a list of specific excuses that can be used to be exempt from reporting for jury duty, including excuses for military, elected official, student, breastfeeding, age, medical worker and firefighter. You can also be excused if you don't meet the basic eligibility requirements for jury duty in AZ.
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.
| Arizona Jury Duty Age Limit Excuse
Arizona has a statutory exemption that allows individuals over a certain age to request exemption from jury duty. In the state of Arizona, potential jurors over 75 years of age must submit a written request and proof of age to be excused from jury selection.
| Other Jury Duty Excuses in Arizona
Postponement of the date of initial appearance for jury service may be requested two times only. Requests for postponement as per the instructions in the Juror Affidavit Questionnaire or Summons received, or by contacting the court in which you are scheduled to appear. Postponement may be granted to an employee of a company containing less than 5 employees or equivalent, if another colleague is already summoned for jury.
Potential jurors are only excused from selection process if:
- they do not understand or speak English to a level required to comprehend the documents of the trial
- if they have a physical or mental disability that would prevent them from serving (doctor's note or sworn statement by professional caregiver required)
- if serving on jury would cause extreme physical or financial hardship.
Jurors having served in Superior court in the last two years that has reached a verdict may be excused from Federal court summons. Arizona registered Peace Officers may also be exempt.
Can I Get Excused From Jury Duty Because I Work?
In Arizona, 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 Arizona 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.