Jury Duty Excuse Letter for Small Business Owner

Jury Duty Excuse Letters

Letters Kate

A Jury duty excuse letter is a letter written by an individual who has been summoned to the court for jury duty but is unable to attend. It is addressed to the court or the jury administration and states the reason behind or excuse for not attending jury duty.

Jury duty entails summoning an individual to the court to serve as a juror and provide their opinion about the guilty person whose case is in a trial in the court. For instance, it can be an employer who has been summoned to give his opinion about his employee’s honesty or dishonesty. However, a juror can be a random individual as well. For example, if the guilty has impacted citizens’ rights somehow, a random citizen can be sought for his opinion.

Federal and state guidelines allow you to excuse jury duty if you have a valid reason. An individual might not be able to perform the jury duty due to various reasons, such as:

  • Non-availability on that particular date of jury duty.
  • Personal and family commitments.
  • Sickness or illness.
  • Educational commitments, e.g. in the case of a student.
  • Professional commitments, meetings, etc.
  • Adverse effects on the personal financial position if jury duty is performed.
  • Non-presence in the country or city.

However, the jury or the court needs to be adequately informed about the absence and the reason behind the absence. If an individual has been summoned for jury duty, one cannot ignore it for no reason, as it involves legalities. One way to formally inform the court is by writing a jury duty excuse letter. This letter should be written keeping in view the following considerations:

  • It should be formal and comprehensive.
  • It should follow federal and state rules.
  • The reason for not attending jury duty should be appropriately and clearly stated.
  • The excuse should not be baseless, lame, or untrue. People often find loopholes in the rules or use exemption rules to excuse jury duties. However, the excuse should not be a lie to avoid perjury and punishment.

The details included in such letters vary depending on the case and the required jury duty. However, the general information included in such letters is:

  • Date.
  • Details of the addressee.
  • Details of the juror.
  • State non-availability and its reason.
  • Request for a reschedule, if applicable.
  • Request for excusing the absence.
  • Apologize.
  • Salutations and signature.

When the concerned party receives this letter, it will be known that the juror will not be present to give their opinion. In such a case,

  • Either the opinion of the juror is sought in written form or  
  • The trial dates are rescheduled (if the juror’s opinion is significant), or
  • Another juror is sought for their opinion.

The jury duty excuse letter is an essential tool of information for the rest of the jury members. It helps them make the required arrangements beforehand, preventing wasted trial days and time.

Jury Duty Excuse Letter Samples

Excuse Letter for vacation

I am writing to request an exemption from jury duty on December 15th, 20XX. I am leaving for a vacation in the Middle East with my family on December 10th. Therefore, I will be abroad for two weeks and request that you exempt me from jury duty.

I have already paid for my vacation expenses, including the flight tickets and hotel reservations. Rescheduling the trip would be tough since it would result in considerable financial loss. I appreciate you considering my situation.

Excuse for the primary caregiver

I am honored to have been selected for jury duty by the State of the USA. However, regretfully, I cannot attend due to my family responsibilities. I am a single parent and the primary caregiver for three children. I can’t go out of town for the required jury duty since no one else will look after my kids.

Considering my situation, I request to be exempted from my duty. I shall be highly grateful for your kindness.

For self-employed

I beg to state that I cannot perform my jury duty on (date). I am a self-employed individual who earns daily to provide for my family. Staying away from work during duty will cause me financial burden.

I request your consideration to excuse me from jury duty.

Jury Duty Excuse from doctor

This concerns the summons for jury duty received by my patient, Jane Doe, on 12th December 20XX. Jane has a high-risk pregnancy with Placenta Previa. She is, therefore, on complete bed rest and should be exempted from her jury duty.

I am attaching her medical reports for verification. You may contact me with any queries.

For college student

Thank you for selecting me for jury duty. Although it is an honor, I regret to state that I will not be able to appear for the duty owing to my college mid-term exams, which coincide with the date of the said duty.

Kindly excuse me for the above-stated reasons. I shall be grateful to you.

For a small business owner

I received a summons for jury duty on December 1st. As a small business owner, I cannot afford to be absent from work during duty. It would cause me to lose clients and suffer financial loss. Therefore, I request to be excused from jury duty.

Please call me at (phone number) with any concerns. I am grateful for the exemption you provided me.

Jury Duty Excuse Letter for Small Business Owner

File: Word (.docx) 2007+ and iPad
Size 22 KB

Download