Question: I'm a sole proprietor who recently received a jury duty summons. My request to be excused for financial hardship was denied. Do I have to close my business and serve?
Answer: Due to a chronic juror shortage, the courts are no longer accepting financial hardship excuses. However, they are making several accommodations for potential jurors, says Beverly Hills trial attorney Eli Kantor, who represents employers in labor law cases.
If you are summoned at an inconvenient time, you can ask to be rescheduled. If the location is inconvenient, you can request to be transferred to a court closer to your home or work. You can typically make these requests through the court's automated juror telephone system.
You have to be available for only a five-day period, Kantor says. "You need to call in every evening and you will be informed if you are needed the next day. If not, you will be instructed to call in again the next afternoon. If you are not called after five days, you will be excused."
If you are questioned as a potential juror, the judge will know the approximate length of the trial and will ask questions about potential juror's availability and whether their employers compensate them for jury service. "If someone is self employed, courts generally will excuse them if the trial is scheduled to last more than five days," Kantor said.
While choosing jurors in a recent trial, Kantor identified an entrepreneur he thought would be sympathetic to his small-business client. However, the man asked the judge to excuse him because he couldn't be away from his business for as long as the trial was expected to last. The Judge refused his request, but when the plaintiff's attorney asked the man whether he could be fair to the plaintiff, he said "No." The end result: The plaintiff's attorney excused him for cause.
By the way, all sole proprietors should make arrangements for temporary help in the event of jury duty, illness, vacations or personal emergencies, Kantor advised. "As a sole proprietor myself, I have made reciprocal arrangements with other sole practitioners so we can cover for each other when we are on vacation or in a pinch," he said.
By Karen E. Klein, March 22, 2006
LA Times
