For most, being selected for jury duty is some of the worst mail you can get. However, avoiding it is difficult and could get you in trouble with Arizona law.
Jury duty is not always convenient, but it is a small price to pay for being a part of our society. Often, summonses conflict with work and school schedules, throwing off daily routines. However inconvenient, summonses are a legally binding obligation for all Arizona citizens 18 and older, and it is illegal for an employer to discharge or discriminate against an employee for attending jury duty.
Still, it can be tempting to skip, thinking your absence will go unnoticed, but you'd be wrong. Here's what the law says.
Is it illegal to skip jury duty in Arizona?
Yes, it is illegal to skip jury duty, and there can be legal penalties for
not attending.
Arizona Revised Statutes 21-223 reads, "It is unlawful for a juror who is summoned and who fails to obtain a postponement or who is not excused from jury service to willfully and without reasonable excuse fail to attend on the date scheduled for jury service. If the person fails to respond to a second summons, the court may issue a body attachment as for a direct contempt of the court. The person may be fined an amount not to exceed five hundred dollars and may be compelled to attend for jury service on another date."
Regardless of whether a jury summons conflicts with personal circumstances, skipping jury duty unexcused could result in fines or a civil arrest warrant.
"There are potential consequences for jurors who fail to appear for or participate in jury service," Maricopa County public information officer Vincent Funari said. "The process generally begins with an Order to Show Cause, which provides the individual an opportunity to appear before the court. Any sanctions or other actions are determined by the judge handling the hearing based on the circumstances of the juror."
Many might believe it is unlikely to actually be held accountable for skipping jury duty, but Arizona Superior Court has proved they will hold an Order to Show Cause hearing, requiring people who have skipped their jury duty to provide a reasonable explanation for their absence. Those who do not have a reasonable explanation are likely to be fined upon the judge's decision.
How to get excused from jury duty
It can be very hard to be excused from jury duty completely. Arizona allows jurors with physical or mental disabilities to submit a form request to be excused from jury duty if their disabilities could prevent them from serving.
Other circumstances such as extreme financial hardship, being a dependent caregiver and more might be considered once a request to be excused is made.
However, if the date of a juror summons is simply inconvenient, this is not a valid excuse. It can be a reason for jury duty to be postponed upon request though. If your initial jury duty date is inconvenient, there should be an option on your summons to postpone your date, or you may call your county's jury clerk.
A juror may only request a postponement once for a jury date that is no less than 10 days prior to the summonsed date.
If postponement or excusal requests are not made, you are expected to attend your summoned date and are at risk of legal penalties for not doing so or being late.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Is it illegal to skip jury duty? Here's what Arizona law says
