Thank you for asking me “How do I get myself Disqualified from Jury Service?”
Sadly, this is an all-too common question.
Out of the gate please know that I am not going to instruct you as to how to avoid your civic duty. That would be both irresponsible and unethical.
Serving as a Juror is both a privilege and a civic duty. As a citizen you enjoy a lot of freedom, privileges and rights, and little is asked of you in return, but one of the few things that is expected of you is that you will honor your summons for jury duty, and you should do so proudly.
I know that it’s 1 in a million people who open their mail, see a Jury Duty Summons and say to themselves “YES, FINALLY, it came… I get to be a juror”… but that’s not the point. The point is that freedom is not free, and serving as a juror is one of the very few costs for your freedom.
That said, you can look at F.S. 40.013 if you want to see a list of the various categories of people who are automatically disqualified and who must be excused from jury service, as well as those who may be excused if the Judge feels that sufficient cause to do so exists.
Apart from the statutory reasons lawyers are permitted to use what are called “peremptory challenges” to strike potential jurors who they do not want – for any of a variety fo reasons – to hear and judge their case.
If a lawyer doesn’t feel that you are going to be a good juror for his or her case then they can levy a peremptory challenge and, so long as it is not done for an illegal reason (like because of your race or gender) then you are gone.
The goal with jury selection, and with the criminal process in general, is to get 6 or 12 folks who are committed to fairly and lawfully serving as the triers of fact. If you cannot do this, if you truly cannot be fair and impartial in your heart of hearts, then you should be excused.
At Michael A. Haber, PA “it’s all about reasonable doubt”!
Please note that no attorney-client relationship with either Michael A. Haber, PA or Michael A. Haber, Esq. exists as a result of your watching this Webisode series. Further any and all information which is both contained in and may be construed from this Webisode series is generic in nature and should only be considered as informational and not as actual legal advise in any specific case. Should you wish to seek actual legal advise then please feel free to contact Michael A. Haber, Esq. as follows:
Office Phone: 305-381-8686
Toll Free Phone: 1-888-SHARK-8-1
Cellular Phone / Text: 305-798-2220
https://criminallaw.miami
E-Mail: [email protected] / [email protected]
Facebook: www.facebook.com/HaberPA
Twitter: @Sharky910
Blog: http://habercriminallaw.blogspot.com/
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