Do you think that requiring people to serve jury duty discriminates against those with lower incomes?

I think the problem is that Jurors aren’t compensated properly for their time. If you made a reasonable wage from your time on a jury, then this wouldn’t really be an issue. The justice system should be made up of people from all incomes/races/genders/religions etc. That’s part of what keeps it fair. I don’t think a jury of millionaires would be as likely to judge white collar crimes as harshly for example.

In my state, you can apply to be waived from a specific jury duty if you have a hardship case. It certainly seems like this would cause you great financial hardship. I would inquire and see if you can be dismissed.

Yes @gorillapaws , but maybe the compensation should be greater for those who don’t get paid for their time from their employer? I agree totally in principle with what you’re saying, but it still won’t pay my bills for the next four months.

Thanks, @janbb . I intent to do so. A few years ago, I had this same issue, and they switched my jury service with no problem. I think I am stressing so much because the guy I talked to this morning was a bit of a jerk and didn’t seem to offer any reassurances along that line, whereas the person I talked to a couple of years ago told me to send in the letter, but assured me that as long as they got that it wouldn’t be an issue. The whole conversation this morning made me wonder if it was going to be more difficult to get excused than it was back then.

No, I do not.

If you have vacation days or sick days, you can use those to keep your total income the same.

Anytime I’ve asked to be excused, I was.

Hi @KNOWITALL / I actually don’t get sick pay or vacation pay, but even if I did, most jobs are not going to give you enough vacation pay to cover eight days a month for four months. Maybe if you work in Sweden, lol!

Historically, only people with property could serve on juries. (1791–1798 in Georgia, 1791–1967 in New York).

So the idea of discriminating against lower income people in jury selection has plenty of of historical backing. This isn’t anything new.

Well, @elbanditoroso , as wrong as that would be, in that case it would help me, as I could then be excused. But all kidding aside, I was referring more to the ability of those with lower incomes to be able to take off from their jobs in order to serve.

I think it all depends on who you talk to as you have found out. The previous person you talked to allowed you to use a hardship reason and the person you just talked to wasn’t all that polite. I served on a jury several years ago that started the week before thanksgiving and was supposed to run about 2 weeks. One of the people chosen had a catering business and this would be his busiest time of the year. They wouldn’t let him off jury duty. There were over 100 people that were called up and they could have picked someone else, but I felt like they were playing hardball with him.

It sems to me that people working low wage jobs for employers without allowances for salary maintenance during jury service, qualify for pleading unreasonable hardship. Aren’t they routinely excused from service upon request?

Like many things in a democracy, it sucks, but it is perhaps the best system. You do not want to QB7.

Jury duty can/does have a massive, even disastrous effect on someone who has very limited means and/or who is needed to be doing something else that makes their personal/family economy function.

It can also be very problematic or even disastrous for many middle-class people.

For someone who has abundant wealth, that tends to be very much not the case.

“Discrimination” seems not like an accurate word, but perhaps “very unfair and potentially disastrous” might be a more accurate way to put it.

As for getting the requirement waived for reasons, I have heard of many people making what sound like reasonable arguments getting denied waivers.

@Lonelyheart807: It sounds like today you were speaking with a civil servant who is a bit nasty or at the very least, not the most helpful. I say that and I am a civil servant (aka a public employee). Send in your letter explaining your work situation.

As for who is impacted by having to serve on a jury, I have people in my family who work for themselves (for example, a Certified Public Accountant). If he doesn’t work, he doesn’t get paid. If it were during tax season, it could be a disaster.

@Lonelyheart807 I must have read your question wrong, I thought it was only four days a month, my bad.

No problem, @KNOWITALL . I could maybe make due for four days (not in the same week, but this would be for four months. There’s no way I can make that happen.

Where I live, the employers are required to still pay you for the days you’re on jury duty & then you’re paid the $15/day on top of that. Still not anything worth getting excited over; but, better than just the $15/day in your state.

Hardship is a valid reason to be dismissed from this duty. The problem is that lots of people are trying to scam the system to be relieved of jury duty. Consequently the judge is charted with the challenge of who is truly hurt by this and who isn’t. You’re much better off if you’re honest and don’t embellish your problems.