There are different reasons for this, the couple I know about is having a conflict of interest and a discriminating opinion with the case.

The whole hurry up and wait thing...Plus if you get on a panel its so open ended. Your being TOLD to do it ... I wish you could volenteer for a time when it was convinient for you. Some people enjoy it, and if I didn't have kids at home that I homeschool it would be one thing. There are no exceptions to the rules if your kids are over 5yo too bad you have to go in ..

The think the biggest reason is probably the inconvenience involved.

Some people can't afford the time off work. Some people might not want the notoriety if the case is a high-profile one. Some don't want the responsibility. Any number of reasons, really.

i have been called for jury duty 3X.two of these were for federal jury duty....i drive over the road truck. i stay out 3-4 wks at a time. the instructions for jury members were to call the court every day to see if you were needed for duty the next day .you can see that this would not work in my case...each time i was summoned,i was excused after 1 phone call to the clerk.

i agree with the others, i have never been called to jury duty *knocks on wood* but i wouldn't want to take time off work, find a babysitter, you know the whole time and not wanting to situation.

I've been on jury duty six times. I don't mind it at all. I get to sleep later and it's not so far to drive as when I have to go to work. The first time (1979) it was a lot of sitting around and waiting while the attorneys haggled. Since then they have revised the system here and they only call jurors when the case is ready to go to trial. There are 2 types of cases - criminal and civil. You can get what a criminal case would involve just from the name. A civil case is when someone sues another for money because of some negligence involved like a medical malpractice. Twelve jurors and four alternates are needed for a criminal case. Six jurors and two alternates are needed for a civil case. Now the most time-consuming thing is the "vior dire" or jury selection, where each of the attorneys must interview and question each prospective juror. Some of the questions can get pretty personal. Then they all must agree on each candidate. Ninety percent of the panel is eliminated this way. Then it will depend on how long the case is expected to take which can be a few hours to weeks depending on the witnesses, testimony, etc. The last jury I sat on was a civil case that took 2 weeks, excluding Labor Day, back in 2002.

- Loss of work. - Boring. - uncomfortable with judging others. - transportation problems. - responsible for care of child or elderly. I know of people who refuse to register to vote inorder to avoid this possiblity.

I try to get out of it because its really boring.

Good question. Jury duty is a right that not all people have. I have been called for jury duty 3 times, but unfortunately, due to the current circumstances at the time, I wasn't able to participate in any. The first one I received, I was 2 weeks away from my due date with my first child and I also no longer resided in that county which was an hour and a half away. The 2nd one came right after my husband, kids, and I moved to another state, so I couldn't attend that one. And my 3rd one came when I was at Ft. Lee, Virginia, for my AIT, my US Army MOS training, which was 16 weeks, and jury duty was back in Missouri. There's no way the Army will send you back for that. Lol. I figured since the computer that randomly chooses names liked my name so much that I had been called 3 times in 6 years, I'll have plenty of other chances. Haven't received any jury duty notices since. It's been 15 years and nothing! Lol

Some people don't care about jury duty or they have more important things to do with their time.

Its at 8:30am

it's a looooong day. you just sit around, go to lunch, come back and sit around some more. your group might get picked for a jury but it's been my experience, that when the defendant's lawyer sees 15 disgruntled people walk into the courtroom, they cave quick. LOL!

Firstly there is the obvious crap about how jury duty used to be voluntary, so that those who wanted to do this could, and those that didn't could opt-out. Next there is the rampant invasion of privacy called Voir Dire, in which lawyers get to ask a slew of very personal questions you are mandated to answer truthfully, and you can bet all is recorded somewhere. Next is the fact that most jury trials last around a week, yet the wage paid is $15 a day. Then come the judges discretion to suppress pertinent evidence (such as a history of abuse, crimes, etc.), then later instruction where he basically tells you what evidence you can consider, and what verdicts you are allowed to render. Lastly the jury deliberation behind closed doors, where some try to bully/strongarm others into agreement. Oh yeah, let's not forget that once the jury selection posse have you on their list, they can summon you year after year...I've heard of one guy being forced to do two trials in a year. Why do people try to get out of jury duty? Because not everyone is stooopid!

i never wanted to do it ..it would not be nice helping to convict people,even though they deserve jail..

The entire process from the initial summons to showing up at the court house for selection is govt intimidation. The summons proclaims it is "your duty" to serve, and they can issue an arrest warrant against you if you don't respond to their summons. Reminds me of the draft board back before they stopped drafting us for military service. They then go on to inform you of the "dress code" and threaten with contempt of court violation for not complying. Then you get there and spend the entire day being pushed around and bossed around by "officers of the court" as though you were the criminal. It is 68 miles from my house to the courthouse at the other end of the county where I live. They used to pay mileage for each day you were required to appear. Mileage both ways. The gov decided to change that and made it our "duty" to appear on our own dime the first day, and then get paid mileage only 1 way starting the second day. Then they tell you to be there by 7:45 AM. A difficult proposition for somebody working nights. They inform you not having child care is not an excuse to not come to jury duty. They don't care a thing about your employment, your children or your transportation costs while demanding your "service" either. So, if you make it past all the examinations by the prosecutors and defense counselors, and you are selected for the jury and seated by the judge, you spend long days listening to the trial go on and then you begin deliberations. There are those who make no bones about not wanting to waste any more time, and want to vote quickly to convict so they can "get on with their lives". There are arguments over testimony and people are often worn down to change from an innocent vote to a guilty vote to simply get it done with. After MANY stories of innocent people being convicted and spending years in prisons who were finally exonerated, I have come to the conclusion that I will not vote to condemn anybody if they put me on a jury.

Jury Duty is usually boring.