Can you really go to jail for missing jurry duty?

Question

I have gotten two summunces this year alone, and missed both. They say that you can be punished for not going. Do they really punish you?

I live in so. cali. if that makes a difference

Well I just went to my local polic website, and I don't have any warrants

Answer 1

Probably not jail but you may get a warrant from the judge and get lectured and pay court costs.

Answer 2

You better hope you don't get pulled over for any traffic violations cause there is probably a bench warrant out for your arrest.

Failure to Appear
If you are qualified and you have not been excused or had your service postponed, you must report for jury service. You may only have to call on the phone or check a Web site to find out if you should report for jury service. Any person who fails to respond may be fined up to $1,500. Jail time in addition to the fine is also possible. Carefully follow the instructions on the summons and contact the court if you need help.

Answer 3

Missing jury duty WITH a reasonable and viable excuse is allowed. You'd have to provide evidence of same..ie a doctor's note if you were sick..an accident report if you were in an accident, etc., etc.
Just blowing it of is NOT allowed and yes...there are charges that can be filed and there is a possibilty of fine, imprisonment or both.
If I were in the position of reviewing your situation..the fact that you missed 2 would already have my stank-o-meter in the red zone and I'd be looking for proof or reason, and damn good ones, for both instances.
It's your civic duty to serve. You are obligated to work around the jury dates..not work the jury dates around vacations, hair styling appointments and so on.
If you are found suspect of blowing of the dates and ultimately charged....you better hope, if you end up having a day in court..your jurors take things a little more serious than you. And remember..they'll be sitting there..away from work, friends, and family..deciding whether or not to hammer you for blowing off what they're doing at that very moment.

Answer 4

Yup. On slow days, local jursidictions go and serve bench warrants on people who've skipped out on Jury Duty. You definitely can be punished. In a large place like socal, though, I wouldn't worry too much. Too many other pressing issues for police to pursue.

Answer 5

I live in So. Cal. too... most of the time, your "group" is dismissed before you have to show, anyway - so you may have lucked out. But if you are required to show up and you do not, they can issue a bench warrant for you. I don't think that I've ever heard of anyone actually serving time for not showing up, but it is considered contempt if you just ignore your summons. Go! It's not that bad, and you might meet a new friend!

Answer 6

Here in Ohio I remember a story about a woman who failed to show up for jury duty because she went on vacation. When she got back the judge was so pissed at her that he found her in contempt of court and put her in jail - I don't remember how long, though.

Answer 7

Yes you can go to jail.. the summons for jury duty is a court order... you are in contempt of court in most states if you do not go... the penalty.. is pretty much up to the judge who's order your violated... and some of them can get very extreme...

there are a LOT of ways to get out of jury duty... I got out because I was going to be moving on the day they wanted me.. all I had to do was call them up.. and they told me to write on it that I was moving.. and mail it back in... you can also become exempt if you are a student.. but not a teacher ... some stuff varies from state to state....

watch out when you go to renew your driver's license... they may have a warrent out for you!

Answer 8

Yes they can. Contempt of court is a misdemeanor and punishable by a fine and/or jail time. Sometimes the jail time is suspended, but rarely is the fine.

Answer 9

yes, but in socal they have such high rate of no shows that it's rarely enforced, there simply is not enough time and money ot go chasing after potentential jurists, and if they did they ( the courts ) fear the backlash of aggrivated juries, hence why they don't punish the no shows.

Answer 10

Not done very often, but the judge can send the bailiff to come and arrest you, citing you for contempt. You can also have a warrant issued for your arrest for failure to show up.