The application shall contain documentation, satisfactory to the commissioner, supporting the ground for excusal. The commissioner may, in his or her discretion, consider an application for excusal by a prospective juror before the juror has received a jury summons if the juror has returned the juror qualification questionnaire.
Guidelines for Postponements and Excusals
Judges and Commissioners of Jurors shall utilize the following guidelines in determining whether to grant postponements and excusals from jury service pursuant to section 517 of the Judiciary Law.
Judges and Commissioners of Jurors shall be guided by the following standards in determining whether a person shall receive a postponement of or excusal from jury service. Nothing in these guidelines shall be deemed to limit the documentation that a judge or Commissioner of Jurors may require based upon the facts underlying any individual application for postponement or excusal. A judge or Commissioner of Jurors, in appropriate cases, also may require that any statement submitted be sworn to under oath.
An application for postponement or excusal may be granted if the applicant has a mental or physical condition that causes him or her to be incapable of performing jury service. The judge or Commissioner of Jurors may require the following documentation in support of the application:
An application for postponement or excusal may be granted if service as a juror would cause undue hardship or extreme inconvenience to the applicant, a person under his or her care or supervision, or the public. A determination of undue hardship or extreme inconvenience shall be based upon service as a juror for a period of five consecutive court days.
An applicant may obtain a postponement or excusal if the applicant (i) has a personal obligation to care for another, including a sick, aged, infirm or disabled dependent or a minor child, who requires the prospective juror's personal care and attention during the time the person will be required to serve as a juror, and (ii) no alternative care is available without severe financial hardship to the applicant or the person requiring care, or because special needs of the person receiving care foreclose the temporary substitution of another caregiver. In determining whether the applicant's personal care and attention are required, the judge or Commissioner of Jurors may require the following documentation in support of the application:
An applicant may obtain a postponement or excusal if the applicant will suffer a financial hardship that will significantly compromise the applicant's ability to support himself, herself or dependents. In determining whether the applicant's ability to provide such support is significantly compromised, the court or Commissioner of Jurors may require the following documentation:
An applicant may obtain a postponement or excusal if his or her absence to serve as a juror would jeopardize to a significant degree the health, welfare or safety of the public. In determining whether the health, welfare or safety of the public would be significantly jeorpardized, the judge or Commissioner of Jurors may require a statement by the applicant setting forth (i) the nature and duties of his or her service to the public, (ii) the hours when such service is performed, and (iii) the availability of others to perform such service in his or her absence. The performance of duities that affect the public shall not by itself serve as a ground for postponement or excusal without a showing that the specific individual services performed by the applicant meet the criteria contianed in these guidelines.
An applicant may obtain a postponement or excusal if (i) the applicant does not have access to a private vehicle, (ii) there is no available public transportation that will permit the applicant to travel to the court in a reasonable time, and (iii) use of other alternate means of transportation to the court would create a severe financial burden. In determining whether an applicant lacks transportation to appear in court to serve as a juror, the judge or Comissioner of Jurors may require a statement by the applicant setting forth (i) the reasons the applicant cannot obtain transportation to the court, (ii) the applicant's current employment status and transportation arrangements to his or her place of employment, and (iii) the anticipated duration of the applicant's inability to obtain the necessary transportation.
Applications for excusal from jury service based upon matters of conscience should be handled during jury selection or determined by the trial judge.
Members of the clergy who request excusal for matters of conscience shall be excused by the Commissioner of Jurors, unless determined otherwise by the court, and removed from the current list of qualified jurors. In support of each request, the following documentation shall be submitted tot he Commissioner of Jurors:
N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 22 § 128.6-a