How are excuse requests presented on the date of jury selection handled?
The summoning process provides jurors with the opportunity to request excuses from or postponement of jury service in advance of their scheduled service date(s). This process operates on the premise that routine, normally foreseeable problems will be identified and addressed prior to the date of jury service. The court tries to limit the number of jurors actually reporting on selection day for two reasons. First, we try to be conservative so that we do not waste the time of jurors who we really have no likelihood of using. Second, we try to avoid the costs incurred by having an overly large panel of jurors reporting for service. This being said, the court also recognizes that the unexpected does happen and that sickness or ill health may strike at any time. Taking all of these issues into account, excuse or postponement requests presented on the date of jury selection will normally be denied unless the request is based upon a sudden illness or a life-threatening emergency on the part o
