Can’t miss work? Don’t have a car? Here’s what happens if you skip jury duty in Kentucky
If you’ve ever received a jury duty summons in the mail, you’ve might’ve wondered if you can get out of serving.
By Kentucky law, someone summoned for jury service is required to be available for at least 30 court days. The catch, however, is once the jury begins hearing the case, it will remain seated for the duration of the trial, however long that takes.
The go-to reason many people offer is they would take a financial hit if they missed work while serving on a jury. Unfortunately, missing work isn’t always considered a valid excuse.
Here’s what Kentucky courts see as valid reasons to get out of jury duty and what happens if you fail to answer a summons. Keep in mind this is how jury duty at the state level works. Jurors serving in a federal court may have a different experience.
Who can serve on a jury in Kentucky?
As explained by the Louisville Bar Association, the Administrative Office of the Courts puts together a master list of potential jurors for each of the state’s 120 counties.
As a juror, your name could be drawn from your state tax return, voter registration or your driver’s license. The AOC regularly purges the names’ of those who have died from the master list by cross-referencing it with the Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics, which preserves death certificates.
To qualify for jury duty in Kentucky, you must meet the following requirements:
Be at least 18 years old
Be a U.S. citizen
Reside in the county where the case is being tried
Capable of speaking and understanding English
Have not been convicted of a felony (unless pardoned)
Not be under an indictment
Have not served on a jury within the past 24 months
What if I’m summoned for jury duty but don’t show up?
Under Kentucky state law, if you are summoned for jury service and fail to appear you could face serious legal consequences.
Should you ignore the summons, you will be ordered to appear in court “forthwith,” and if you don’t have a good enough reason for not answering initially, you could be held in contempt of court.
If so, that could mean jail time and potentially up to $500 in fines, according to Louisville-based law firm Suhre & Associates.
Can you postpone jury service in Kentucky?
Kentucky law grants judges the discretion to excuse a juror from service entirely, reduce their number of service days or to postpone it, but not indefinitely.
One example of this includes mothers who are breastfeeding. State law provides, “the judge shall excuse a mother who is breastfeeding a child or expressing breastmilk from jury service until such time as the child is old enough that the mother is no longer breastfeeding the child.”
In most cases, however, the law also states, “whenever possible the judge shall favor temporary postponement of service or reduced service over permanent excuse.”
If you are excused from jury service, the judge will record your name and the reasons for granting the excuse, but don’t expect to be off the hook for good. You can be summoned again so long as you continue to meet requirements to serve.
What are acceptable excuses to not serve on a jury in Kentucky?
Generally speaking, to be excused from jury service in the Bluegrass State, you need to show you have an “undue hardship, extreme inconvenience or public necessity,” state law says.
Those terms are open to interpretation and are left to the court’s discretion. Some examples of undue hardship or extreme inconvenience include not having reliable transportation or being the sole caregiver of a dependent who needs you, such as a child or elderly parent.
By request, you could also be permanently disqualified from being a juror if you have a permanent medical condition that makes you incapable of serving. That could include conditions that require hospitalization or round-the-clock nursing care or similar debilitating conditions.
Additionally, if you are 70 years of age or older, you can request on the juror qualification form to be excused from the period you’re asked to serve.
On the other hand, the best way to get out of jury service in the long-term may be to just go ahead and serve. If you serve on a jury in Kentucky, you can’t be summoned to serve again for at least two years.
Kentucky residents who have questions about are advised to contact the Administrative Office of the Courts at 502-573-2350 or visit its website.
Do you have a question about the law in Kentucky for our service journalism team? We’d like to hear from you. Fill out our Know Your Kentucky form or email ask@herald-leader.com.
