Could your age or health get you out of jury duty? Here are Georgia’s requirements

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If you are past the age or don’t meet the requirements for jury duty, you should know so you can be exempted by the court.

Credit: Unsplash/Bermix Studio

Once or twice a year, you may get a letter in the mail telling you that you need to serve on a jury for a court case you probably know nothing about. While you would be contributing to your community, at a certain age it can become harder to serve on a jury.

Here are some requirements and restrictions that need to be met for a citizen to still be allowed to attend jury duty.

Age Restrictions

Courts will randomly select potential jurors from a pool of all eligible residents over the age of 18. If selected, you will receive a notice in the mail with the time, date and location of where you need to appear in court.

However, you can be exempted from needing to appear in court if you are over the age of 70 or suffer from health afflictions such as:

• need for around-the-clock nursing care
• immobility/limited movement
• dementia or psychosis

If you qualify for this exemption, but still receive a court summons then you need to notify the court that initiated contact to receive an official pardon.

Other conditions for exemption

Some other conditions can also lead to an exemption from jury duty. These conditions include:

• Full-time students
• Primary caregivers of children under six years of age
• Primary unpaid caregivers of children over six years of age
• Teachers of home study programs
• Ordered military duty or service members

For more details on these additional solutions check official Georgia law for exemption from jury duty.

This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with The Telegraph.