__________________________________________Ask the DA

 

I am self-employed and work on a freelance basis. Jury duty imposes a unique hardship on people like me, who lack the financial stability provided by other types of employment. Why can’t we contact the County Clerk’s office when our businesses are slow to serve on juries at that time? Fairness is all we seek. What’s your opinion?

Jury duty is not only one of the most important obligations of citizenship in this country, it is also a cornerstone of the fair administration of justice which we frequently take for granted and which distinguishes us from many other countries. Although serving on a jury might sometimes be inconvenient, it is what guarantees us our fundamental right to trial by jury, a privilege extended to us by the United States and New York State constitutions when liberty or certain legal interests are at stake.

In an effort to make the burden of jury duty more uniform, New York State eliminated automatic exemptions from service several years ago. Today, lawyers, doctors and even judges must appear for jury service. At the same time that jury service was made more inclusive, New York State sought to make the system more flexible by allowing jurors in many counties to call in to determine if their presence is required, by reducing the term of service and by lengthening the time between jury duty summonses.

Although all of the aforementioned measures have made jury service far easier than it used to be, it is still true that those who are self-employed face special challenges. Nonetheless, it is important that they, too, be part of our jury pool and that their participation be as random as possible to ensure that all litigants have the ability to select juries from a fair cross section of the community.

To ensure flexibility, summoned jurors are allowed at least two postponements from two to six months long. In addition, a third postponement is available upon submission of an appropriate affidavit. Furthermore, the Jury Division of the Kings County Clerk’s Office will also entertain requests to advance one’s jury service once a person has been randomly selected for service. Finally, I have been advised that the Jury Division is very sympathetic when presented with actual cases of “extreme financial hardship,” proven to its satisfaction with appropriate taxpayer documentation, and in such instances is prepared to postpone jury service for up to two years. If circumstances do not change within that period, such postponements are eligible for renewal.