Jury Duty and Nursing School

sebig001 · Jul 31, 2012

My case may not be helpful to you, but I have ignored jury duty for up to 3 times; I have ignored them for up to 3 years. After the 3rd time, they warned me and told me if I did not serve I would be charged a fine and sent to jail. After that, I decided to contact the jury service 800 number and they put me in the computer system so they can draw my name from the computerized system to notify me to serve. In 6 months, I got the notification and decided to follow up with their demands... lol. I hope I am making sense. So, what I am basically saying is you can choose to ignore them for a certain period and they will not do anything except warn you to serve.

poog · Jul 31, 2012

My judge excused me from jury duty. I promised him I would serve but not during school lol!!

bear14 · Jul 31, 2012

But how did you get the judge to excuse you?

HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD · Jul 31, 2012

In most entities (city, county, etc) the summons you receive actually includes a form that provides you with information about exemptions from jury duty and the method to respond. Status as a full-time student is normally one of the legitimate options for being excused from jury duty... along with responsiblity for small kiddos or elderly dependents, age > 65, convicted felon,.... currently insane - LOL. Good luck.

bear14 · Jul 31, 2012

Mine said to write a letter but I wanted to know if the school should write one too or is it just me?

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Jul 31, 2012

Depending on where you live the is a website on your summons that you can go on and defer for a year. I believe most will allow you a second year without letters and documents. But it si our civic duty to serve on jury's. I will tell you that for the most part I have been excused everytime I have been summoned because I was a nurse.

Check your summons.

bear14 · Jul 31, 2012

I know its my civic duty but my fear is being disqualified from the program because of having to miss class, lab, and clinicals for this. I know other people had to be disqualified because of illness and missing classes and had to wait up to a year to get back in and I am afraid of that happening.

caliotter3 · Jul 31, 2012

Chances are low that this will be a problem for you. If chosen for a jury panel, I am almost certain that your explanation of your circumstances would get you excused. Worry about this when you get the summons, until then, focus on your other concerns. Good luck in school.

classicdame, MSN, EdD · Jul 31, 2012

Your jury notice should indicate whom to contact to see if you are eligible for exemption. If you are not eligible, then you have a legal obligation to attend and your school is legally obligated to allow you. Ask the people who really know - the ones at the courthouse.

brillohead, ADN, RN · Jul 31, 2012

My last summons had an option to defer for a year for various reasons. I just checked that box and wrote that I was currently in nursing school, and I'll go into the rotation to have my name picked again in the future.

There should be instructions on the summons, as well as information available on the court's website, as well as a phone number you can call to clarify things. DO NOT ignore the summons -- one local judge started throwing people in jail for being in contempt for just ignoring the court's correspondence, and they are within their rights to do so.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Jul 31, 2012

I know its my civic duty but my fear is being disqualified from the program because of having to miss class, lab, and clinicals for this. I know other people had to be disqualified because of illness and missing classes and had to wait up to a year to get back in and I am afraid of that happening.

Like I said.....you can apply to postpone....I don't know where you live but it should be online from your summons. you can delay a year plus one year without letters and pleading to the judge. Technically like your job....the program cannot penalize you for your court summons