JuryDuty101
Arkansas - List of Jury Duty Excuses
Arkansas - List of Jury Duty Excuses
Arkansas - Getting Excused From Jury Duty
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| Jury Duty Excuses Chart For Arkansas
Excused| 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 Arkansas, 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.
Arkansas 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, police, medical worker, firefighter and disability. You can also be excused if you don't meet the basic eligibility requirements for jury duty in AR.
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.
| Arkansas Jury Duty Age Limit Excuse
While many states allow individuals over a certain age to request exemption from jury duty on account of their age, Arkansas has no such statutory exemption. Elderly individuals may still be able to request exemption from jury duty on account of health, mobility, or other factors.
The State of Arkansas has no elder age excuse provisions that would dismiss anyone over 18 years of age from their jury obligations.
| Other Jury Duty Excuses in Arkansas
In the state of Arkansas, excuse from jury duty may be granted for extreme personal hardship. Write or visit a local circuit clerk's office for directions on how to apply for an excuse from jury duty. Only a Circuit Judge can grant excusal from jury duty.
Can I Get Excused From Jury Duty Because I Work?
In Arkansas, 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 Arkansas 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.