JuryDuty101
West Virginia - List of Jury Duty Excuses
West Virginia - List of Jury Duty Excuses
West Virginia - Getting Excused From Jury Duty
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| Jury Duty Excuses Chart For West Virginia
| Situation | Jury Duty |
|---|---|
| Military |  |
| Elected Official | |
| Student | |
| Breastfeeding Mother | |
| Police | |
| Medical Worker | |
| Firefighter | |
| Disablity |  |
While jury duty is a civic requirement for all eligible citizens in West Virginia, there are a number of excuses that can be used to legally get out of being required to report for jury selection or jury duty, or receive a deferral.
West Virginia has a list of specific excuses that can be used to be exempt from reporting for jury duty, including excuses for military, elected official, student, breastfeeding, age, police, medical worker and firefighter. You can also be excused if you don't meet the basic eligibility requirements for jury duty in WV.
Generally, if you qualify for one of the statutory excuses, you can respond to your jury duty summons letter with an excuse note containing proof of your excuse, and you will not have to report for jury selection.
| West Virginia Jury Duty Age Limit Excuse
West Virginia has a statutory exemption that allows individuals over a certain age to request exemption from jury duty. Citizens over the age of 70 can be exempt from jury service under this age exception.
A prospective juror 70 years of age or older shall be excused from service by the court upon the juror's request on the qualification questionnaire.
| West Virginia Disablity Jury Duty Excuse
If a prospective juror, by reason of substantial physical or mental disability, is incapable of rendering satisfactory jury service, they may be submit a physician's certificate as to the disability to be exempt from service.
| Other Jury Duty Excuses in West Virginia
No qualified prospective juror is exempt from jury service.
A prospective juror may be excused from jury service by the court for a period the court deems necessary upon a showing of undue hardship, extreme inconvenience, or public necessity. The service will be postponed to a date determined by the court.
Can I Get Excused From Jury Duty Because I Work?
In West Virginia, your employer is not allowed to penalize you for missing work for jury duty. Therefore, simply having a job isn't in itself enough to be excused from jury duty. However, some courts may excuse you if serving on a jury and missing work would cause undue hardship to either yourself or your employer.
Submitting A Jury Duty Excuse Letter
If you do not qualify for any of the West Virginia statutory exemptions listed above but seriously think that attending jury selection would cause you undue hardship, you can always submit a jury duty excuse letter with your response to the summons, and ask to be excused. It will be at the discretion of the court that summoned you whether to accept or deny your excuse.
Remember - A Jury Selection Summons Doesn't Mean You'll Be On A Jury
Keep in mind that your initial jury duty summons is only for attending jury selection day, where it will be decided if you are to actually serve on a jury during the "Voir Dire" process. If you can't get out of attending jury selection, there are many ways to raise the odds that you will be excused after jury selection without being selected to serve on a jury.