JuryDuty101
Ohio - List of Jury Duty Excuses
Ohio - List of Jury Duty Excuses
Ohio - Getting Excused From Jury Duty
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| Jury Duty Excuses Chart For Ohio
| 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 Ohio, 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.
Ohio 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 and firefighter. You can also be excused if you don't meet the basic eligibility requirements for jury duty in OH.
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.
| Ohio Jury Duty Age Limit Excuse
Ohio has a statutory exemption that allows individuals over a certain age to request exemption from jury duty. Citizens over the age of 75 can be exempt from jury service under this age exception.
In Ohio, a prospective juror aged 75 or older may request to be excused from further jury service. However, they will be placed back on the master list the following jury year.
| Ohio Military Jury Duty Excuse
Prospective juror's engaged in active military service may ask to be exempt at the discretion of the court.
| Ohio Disablity Jury Duty Excuse
The court may require documentation from a licensed physician verifying that a mental or physical condition renders the prospective juror unfit for jury service for the remainder of the jury year.
| Other Jury Duty Excuses in Ohio
A prospective juror will be excused if it is in the best interest of the public.
If the prospective juror's spouse or near relative, or the juror's spouse's near relative has recently died or are dangerously ill, they shall be excused.
If the prospective juror is a cloistered member of a religious organization or a member of an Amish sect they may request to excused.
A prospective juror may be excused from service upon showing that service would cause undue or extreme physical or financial hardship to them or a person under their care of supervision.
No excuse, temporary or permanent, will be granted beyond that jury year.
At least 2 business days before the original summons date, a prospective juror may ask for postponement to a date on which court will be in session, no more than 6 months later; if it has not been previously granted; and if the juror has an emergency circumstance that could not have been reasonable avoided.
Can I Get Excused From Jury Duty Because I Work?
In Ohio, 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 Ohio 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.