Things You'll Need:
- Reading material (magazine, book, etc.)
- Pen or pencil
- Calendar
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Step 1
First, respond to the summons. If you want to postpone the jury duty, you can usually do so one or two times before being required to come in. Ultimately, although the summons says you are required to respond, no one can ever prove whether or not you received the summons since it was mailed. As a result, if you really wanted to avoid reporting for jury duty, all you have to do is not show up, but it's a civic responsibility and unless you're joining the armed forces, it's the only chance you'll get to serve your country.
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Step 2
Report for jury duty a little earlier than you think you'll need to and then be prepared to wait. Parking can often be an issue at the courthouse, especially if you're responding to a summons on a traditionally busy day, usually a Monday, Thursday, or Friday. However, once you get there you'll be waiting a lot. Even after you get assigned to a courtroom, if you ever get assigned to a courtroom, you'll be waiting a lot in your tenure as a juror. Bring a magazine or a book to entertain yourself. The time will pass more quickly and it won't be agonizing.
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Step 3
Respond candidly to questions by the judge and attorneys. If you feel a particular way about something, everyone in the courtroom wants to know. And if you're not comfortable being candid in front of 40 of your closest fellow jurors, request to answer the question in private. Most judges will honor this request. They only want to know you're honest opinion. In fact, if you're looking to get out of jury duty, being opinionated, no matter whether you lean to the right or the left, is the fastest way to get kicked from the jury by one of the attorneys.
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Step 4
Be critcial. You job as a juror is not to believe everything you hear, nor is it to always believe the guy in the uniform and disbelieve the guy in the defendant's chair. Your job is to take jury duty seriously and listen carefully. After that, you're to analyze what you heard. Analyze it as skeptically as you would a child who was telling you he hadn't eaten a cookie while having chocolate all over his tiny little fingers.
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Step 5
Collaborate and then stand strong. Once you're deliberating, your job is to listen to the other jurors. Ultimately, in order to reach a verdict, you all have to agree. If you find that there are one or two people disagreeing with the group and you truly feel you are right, be smart about your tactics. You want to speak their language and you're bound to be as opposite as you can imagine so figure out what it is they're looking for and give it to them. Give them the justification they need to vote the way you think they should. Or if you're the one dissenter and you've listened to everything everyone has to say...really listened ... then stick to your guns. You have to live with your decision and it better be a good one ... it's someone's life you're judging.
