can i go to jail if i don't go to jury duty?

Answer 1

YES!!

Answer 2

If you make no attempt to answer the contact, a bench warrant can be issued. It usually doesn't happen. The courts usually are considering to family or illness conditions. But some courts are so jammed that they need to use all people contacted. I would not ignore a jury duty summons, I don't want the hassle.

Answer 3

I know people who've ignored the summonses and have never been bothered. In fact, if you ignore enough of them, they'll simply stop sending them. They probably figure anyone who doesn't bother to read their mail isn't worth trying to force into serving.

The way I see it is this... give people a choice

When you turn 18, at the beginning of each year if you choose that you don't want to serve that year, you abdicate the right to a trial by jury that year, and a judge decides your fate if you go to trial.

Considering that the vast majority of people who commit crimes which go to trial are serious screw-ups to begin with, we pretty much filter them out of the system this way, because none of them will want to serve jury duty anyway.

Good, law abiding citizens who don't want to serve probably have nothing to worry about anyway, so they'll never even see the inside of a courtroom. As long as they stay out of trouble, they get to stay home.

People who don't commit crimes but WANT to serve are the exact people you want on juries in the first place.

This way, everyone is happy.

Of course the only problem is that we'll probably have a serious lack of jurors, which means we'll end up having a lot more cases decided by judges as opposed to 12 of your peers, but the way I see it, if you're really concerned about being judged by your peers in the event you commit a heinous crime, then make sure you choose to serve.

Judges are more than acceptable to decide the fate of people who don't give a damn about their constitutional rights to begin with.

I, for one, don't want anyone on a jury who doesn't want to be there to begin with.

Answer 4

Yes, up to five days in the state of Texas or five hundred dollars in fines. I don't know about the other states but in Texas I have been ordered by the court to go to the person's home and business to arrest and bring before the court the individual.

Answer 5

No not really unless they handed you your notice in your hand. If they sent it by regular mail, which is waht they always do, then they can not proove that you ever got it. Things get lost in the mail all of the time. The only thing you would have to do is lie and say you never got it. That is if you are confortable telling a lie. But no to answer your question they most likely would not arrest you for not appearing.

Answer 6

In theory, yes.

However, there are so many people out there who don't go, that tracking them all down is virtually impossible.

I have to ask this, though: Why on earth would you try to skip it? Besides being your civic responsibility, it is a RIGHT that many people don't get. We are very lucky, here in the U.S., that we get to take part in our justice system. Not to mention the fact that we need competent jurors...I usually try to think about who I'd want on my jury, should I ever need one.

Answer 7

No, they send out more notices than they need. I have never heard of them going after anyone. I have gotten several jury notices but was not able to make any of them.

Answer 8

Depending on where you live in the US, there is a chance you may face some form of penalty or fine. Check it out with your town office.

Answer 9

Not if you just point at one of the people on trial and say "I know he did it! Do we even need a trial?" before they even start.

Answer 10

Yes! That is contempt of court.

Answer 11

Yes! That is contempt of court.