Does Autism qualify as an excusal for Jury Duty?
In my country (not US), I've been given a summons by the court in order to appear for Jury Duty (and of course it's mandatory to show up on the appointed date), but I have Autism (makes it difficult for me to interact with strangers and have distrust towards the authorities). I was last diagnosed when I was around 15 years old whilst the first was since 7.
The only thing I have that somewhat counts as medical proof as a psychological assessment on paper confirming I have Autism (as in on the spectrum) back when I was in 9th grade. Even if I waited through the jury panel, and for some reason the lawyer/s decided I should become a juror (despite not wanting to for medical reasons), could I use that as evidence?
However, will the judge accept that even though it's an confirmed medical diagnosis from when I was a teen after pleading my case as to why I am ineligible to serve (difficulty on interacting with others, difficulties with understanding social cues or heightened anxiety), although even if excused: will that be considered permanent or temporary?
12 replies
What country are you from?
In the US the judges have lots of leeway so it is pretty easy to get excused if you really need. However, it varies a ton per country
Just talk about jury nullification, you'll be home before you know it.
The last time I got sent to jury duty, I told the judge that although it is technically possible a sex offender will not re-offend, it was statistically more likely that they will if they already re-offended multiple times.
Apparently, that was not the correct answer and I got sent home 😂
It sounds like it was the correct answer on multiple levels then
I'm autistic and was recently summonsed for Jury Duty. I'm high functioning, and actually wanted to do it but as a single parent it wasn't possible, so I had a different reason to excuse. Autistic people are part of society too, and we usually have a very strong sense of justice and fairness. But often there are distressing details in court cases, so if your anxiety is likely to be extreme then I think that alone is reason to be excused.
Its depends on the court. Try it and see.
But generally you need to make a case that attending Jury Duty will cause an undue hardship, or similar wording. Mental anguish, panic attacks, and things of that nature can definitely be included in that. The court should have instructions for filing a request to be excused and what specifically you need to submit. If they require a doctor's note, then it may or may not be good enough to have your primary doctor write that. It's really not a set in stone thing of what specific things are excuses and it's up to the state, county, city, etc., to created those policies for their jurisdiction.
If you distrust authorities already, just dial it up a bit and maybe rant a little during jury selection. The prosecuting attorney will almost certainly say no to you and the judge will likely send you home
Autism is technically not even part of the equation
I went to Jury Selection recently and several jurors raised their hands and wanted to privately explain why they couldn’t serve. That’s what I’d do.
If your autism is severe enough that you would be unable to participate on the panel, it should disqualify you. But you would need to tell them that, and in the US you'd probably need to provide medical documentation of that.
Personally I live in a big city, and if you don't want to do jury duty, they'll dismiss you for any excuse. They have a large amount of people to pull from. My grandma (rural area) has had to do it multiple times despite serious excuses, presumably just because someone has to be there to form a panel.
It will be hard to guess without knowing the specific rules of your country. In my country you can also raise "general hardship" concerns which may not require as formal documentation as a medical exception might (not saying your documents would be invalid, I don't know!).
I assume your letter does not state what you need to do if you can't attend on that date? Where I live there is info on who to contact to have it deferred or excused. Is there any contact info on the letter? Maybe you or a helper can contact them and ask these questions. It's intimidating for sure but it is better for the courts too if people ask these questions in advance so the day goes more smoothly. You may still need to attend the jury selection but you will know what you need to do.
Good luck!
Not stating your country isn't the most helpful, sorry.
If you're in the UK, I'd recommend contacting your GP asking for a note exempting you. You don't need a huge reason, just saying you have autism and are vulnerable should be enough.
Ask the judge if they are a boyfriend free girl