Is there an age limit for serving on a jury in Pennsylvania? No, but you can get an exemption.
In Pennsylvania state courts, people age 75 and older can request an exemption.
Benjamin Franklin once said there were two certainties in life: death and taxes. Then, the Jury Selection and Service Act of 1968 codified a third: getting summoned to jury duty.
While some people may get called more often than others, all qualified citizens who receive a summons are required to show up unless they meet one of the legal exemptions.
For senior folks, age could be the qualifying factor to excuse them, leaving a reader to ask Curious Philly, The Inquirer’s forum for questions about the city: Is there an age limit on serving for jury duty in Pennsylvania?
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As long as you are an adult citizen, residing in Pennsylvania, and have a beating heart, frankly, the answer is no.
Anyone with an able body and mind who can read, write, and speak English and has never been convicted of a felony or crime punishable by more than a year in prison is can participate in jury duty well into their sunset years.
That said, in Pennsylvania state courts, people 75 years and older can request an exemption from fulfilling jury duty to not have to show up, under state law.
The process, however, isn’t as easy as just choosing not to appear.
Ages for excusal from jury duty
In federal courts, summoned jurors can often be excused as early as their 70th birthday, said Corey McCrea, a courts public affairs specialist.
The precise age, however, depends on the district court a person is summoned to; some may have higher or lower age requirements, McCrea said.
Septuagenarians and older citizens can request to be excused from jury duty, but can still choose to fulfill their jury service if they want to, McCrea said.
State courts also have varying ages for exemptions.
Across the river, in New Jersey, residents must be 75, like in Pennsylvania. They have to prove their date of birth to the jury management office.
But in Mississippi, people 65 years old and older can be excused, and only need to file an online form.
Folks in the state of Washington, on the other hand, need to reach 80 years old before qualifying for an age-related excuse. Even then, they need to prove they can’t serve due to health reasons through an attestation form.
Requesting an age-related excusal for jury duty in Pennsylvania
Older Pennsylvanians who are summoned for jury in state court may request to be excused, with the specific procedure varying by county.
Those summoned in federal court — the Eastern District of Pennsylvania for residents in Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lancaster, Lehigh, Montgomery, Northampton, and Philadelphia Counties — must send an email to ejuror@paed.uscourts.gov within five days of getting the summons to submit their excusal request.
Change on the way?
Seven decades might soon become the rule for all Pennsylvanians, including those summoned in state court.
A new bill in the Pennsylvania General Assembly proposes to lower the jury duty age exemption for all Pennsylvanians to 70.
“When you see people that are 75 years old having trouble just walking into there, to me that’s a bring it down, bring it down to 70,” said Nancy Guenst, the Montgomery County Democrat sponsoring the bill.
