Bill Would Let Students Be Excused From Jury Duty In Florida

January 16, 2019

Many full-time students in Florida could be excused from serving on juries, under a proposal filed Tuesday for the 2019 legislative session.

The measure, filed by Rep. Melony Bell, R-Fort Meade, would allow people to request being excused from jury duty if they are 21 or younger and are enrolled as full-time students in high schools, state colleges, state universities or private postsecondary institutions.

Current law allows some other groups to be excused from jury service, including law-enforcement officers who are excused unless they choose to serve. Judges, for example, also excuse women who are expectant mothers and may excuse attorneys and physicians. Also, the governor and members of the state Cabinet are disqualified from jury service,

by The News Service of Florida

Comments

4 Responses to “Bill Would Let Students Be Excused From Jury Duty In Florida”

  1. David Huie Green on January 19th, 2019 12:04 am

    “You have the right to a jury of your peers.”

    “You mean I’m gonna be tried by a jury of thieves?”

  2. Oversight on January 16th, 2019 8:48 pm

    Bob. True, this may not be politically correct; however, it might bring cause for a lawsuit under the equal protection clause of the Constitution because exemptions give unequal treatment by the government to citizens. If people are to be treated as equals under the law, there should be no exemptions to jury duty – PERIOD.

  3. Bob on January 16th, 2019 11:19 am

    Oversight, that is not politically correct. We are a world of victims and individual rights. No one under 40 even knows what “civic duty” is much less constitutional rights

  4. Oversight on January 16th, 2019 6:42 am

    All adult state residents regardless of position or occupation should perform their civic duty unless there is a conflict, like the police officer who arrested someone shouldn’t be allowed to serve on the jury for the arrested.