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I apologize in advance if this is the wrong forum to ask. Please point me to the right forum if that’s the case.

I was summoned early this year and missed jury duty without asking for a deferral. I reached out to the court clerk to reschedule after about two months and subsequently fulfilled my duty a few months later. No warranty or penalty was issued. I didn’t think much of it when I first missed it, but I realized how big of a mistake/bad conduct that is afterwards and really regret it.

Has anyone been in my situation or does anyone know a friend/acquaintance who’s been in my shoes? I’d appreciate any advice or opinion. Thanks in advance.

I'm confused why you'd need to put this on your application at all. Obviously you have to put down arrests and criminal charges, but unless you were charged with a crime or penalized in some way I don't see a problem.

OP. Bar application asks if you’ve failed to answer any tickets, summons or other legal process served upon you at any time under “Civil Matters” section. I assumed it includes jury summons since it says “any” summons. But I guess it doesn’t since it’s under Civil Matters?

I get it now.

I think you write basically what you put here: "In January 2018, I received a summons for jury duty in X County. At the time, I was less organized than I should have been and I misplaced the summons and then forgot about it altogether. I found the summons two months later and immediately called the clerk of the court for X county and rescheduled my jury service. I ultimately served as a juror for Y days in Z type of case, and found the experience to be rewarding. I deeply regret failing to appear for service when initially summonsed and I have taken steps to be more organized so that this type of mistake doesn't happen again."

Yea I guess the best way to approach this is to be honest and straightforward. That’s really helpful. Thank you so much for your two cents!

Beatmyshorts wrote:I get it now.

I think you write basically what you put here: "In January 2018, I received a summons for jury duty in X County. At the time, I was less organized than I should have been and I misplaced the summons and then forgot about it altogether. I found the summons two months later and immediately called the clerk of the court for X county and rescheduled my jury service. I ultimately served as a juror for Y days in Z type of case, and found the experience to be rewarding. I deeply regret failing to appear for service when initially summonsed and I have taken steps to be more organized so that this type of mistake doesn't happen again."

Agree this is the approach I’d take as well. And in reality, this probably isn’t what the question is getting at... so they’ll read the answer, roll eyes, and move along. That said, I think it’s better to just lay it out then “guess” at what the question is looking for.