Following up on my most popular post, here's how you can prevent yourself from even being called for jury duty in the 1st place. Over a year ago I moved from California to the east coast. But my CA driver's license doesn't expire until 2012, and I don't need to renew it. Since I'm planning on moving again I simply don't want to go through the hassle of going to the DMV. I did, however register to vote in my new state so I could vote for Obama. I thought registering to vote would trigger jury duty harassment, but so far I haven't heard from my local court, and I think I'm in the clear.
If you're like me, an independent contractor who never really gets paid for jury time, then you might want to make sure you never get called. So here's the scoop, but you may need to coordinate this with a move. (I'm not sure if you have to move out of state or just to a different locality, probably depends on how modern your state & localities are).
1. A month or more leading up to a move, go renew your driver's license. You'll probably get a new license good for at least several years. You need to do this ahead of your move since the DMV has to mail your new license to your "home" address.
2. Move & change your address with the post office, your bank & credit cards, etc.
After this your credit profiles will state your new address, and most bureaucracies use your credit report to establish your home address. But your new, local court system does not look through credit data to mine for jury victims.
OPINION: I personally think it's wrong that the court system cannot compensate jurors for their time. This set-up predisposes juries to be made up of mostly affluent people (retirees & housewives) who can afford to serve, and does not make available a true "jury of ones peers". Ironically, it will probably take several major class action lawsuits in different states just to reform this system.
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