I got a jury summons a couple months back and was supposed to go every monday in month of June. Well, I called and it was cancelled for that day that I called for. I've been looking for a place to move into and had a lot going on and it really just slipped my mind. My mom just emailed me and said I had been served with a summons for missing jury duty - does this mean i'm going to go to jail??? I live in the Northern VA area, and i searched online and it said i could be hit with a contempt of court charge. Has this happened to anyone before?? I'm only 19!!
2007-07-12 15:11:32 · 16 answers · asked by honeygrl648 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Law Enforcement & Police
It probably does not mean that you are going to go to jail. In theory, the judge could find you in contempt and throw you in jail, but most judges will not.
What will probably happen is that the judge will ask for you to explain why you missed jury duty. If after hearing your explanation, the judge thinks it was just a mistake instead of intentionally evading jury duty that will be the end of it. If the judge thinks you are treating jury duty like a joke, then you could be in trouble.
In many places, they have been having trouble getting enough people to respond to jury duty. This is one of the reasons why judges are starting to issue citations to have folks come in and explain themselves. They want to make it clear that you can't just blow off jury duty. They are not going to throw the book at someone who has a decent reason for why they didn't show up.
2007-07-12 15:25:17 · answer #1 · answered by Tmess2 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think it all comes down to how mad the judge is about this, and what the state laws allow him to do. I am not a lawyer, however.
I'd look at the summons closely, and read ALL of it - fine print included. Then I would go to the court first thing tomorrow, and explain your case. You may be assigned jury duty right away, or you may be excused. It depends on their mood, and their need, I guess.
Jury duty is a serious part of a citizen's duty, and you need to take it as such. Some people complain about it, but then some people would complain if you hung them with a new rope. Think of this as an opportunity to learn more about how your government operates. If nothing else, you may have some interesting stories to tell at work afterwards.
2007-07-12 15:23:30 · answer #2 · answered by Ralfcoder 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, you could go to jail for not appearing for jury duty. It is unlikely that you will however. Most court systems have such a huge backlog that judges are reluctant to issue warrants for the arrest of no show jurors, but they definitely have the power to do so and if they are in the wrong mood I have seen them order every no show arrested. Like I said this rarely happens though. Your best move would be to contact the court and explain why you missed. You will probably be excused.
2007-07-12 15:27:26 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I got a summons just telling me when to appear for the jury duty. In other words, it said what time the court was choosing the jury for the case to follow immediately. I've gone twice. Its very interesting. I was not selected for the jury either time though.
2007-07-12 15:25:08 · answer #4 · answered by BekindtoAnimals22 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
CAN you go to jail? Yes, it's contempt of Court. WILL you? For missing one, there is about a 1% chance, unless you have a rap sheet a mile long. They aren't sending people to jail over that. They will probably give him a fine, so he better hope that his number was one of the people that wasn't supposed to show, or are you saying he KNEW he was supposed to go and decided not to. For the record jobs LEGALLY are REQUIRED to give you the day off for Jury Duty. Don't matter if he didn't want to go or not, he lacks a valid excuse.
2016-04-01 01:09:58 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You seriously can.. its a summons to court! If you don't show the chances of them "throwing you in jail" are very slim but they can do it if they want to.. they call it jury "duty" for a reason.. get it over with, you shouldn't be called to do it again..
2007-07-12 15:19:34 · answer #6 · answered by Johanna K 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
a jury summons is a court order, and yes you could be arrested for contempt of court if they want to push the issue.
2007-07-12 15:15:48 · answer #7 · answered by danielss429 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's possible, but unlikely. Jury duty is a serious obligation for all Americans, so in the future, be sure to take it more seriously.
2007-07-12 15:14:36 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
its best to show up and tell them that you are biased against every known group , class or race of people ever invented but then you must know that you were called , at birth , to do some kind of civic duty to insure the rites of passage never be un - afforded to those that come a generation behind you .
2007-07-12 15:16:30 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Jail;? Not likely. Severe fine, probation, probably.
You had a lot going to? Quite frankly, they don't care WHAT you have going on.
They're concerned with administering justice, not your personal problems.
I'm sorry for raking you over the coals, but I get tired of people saying "my rights" without being concerned about their responsibilities.
2007-07-12 15:19:18 · answer #10 · answered by TedEx 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋