Is It Illegal to Avoid Jury Duty in Tennessee?

Avoiding jury duty in Tennessee is not a crime, but ignoring a summons is civil contempt of court and can cost you up to $500 plus court costs. The good news is that the state builds in a second chance before the fine lands, and it recognizes several legitimate reasons to be excused or postponed if you ask the right way.

What Happens If You Skip Your Summons

Miss your reporting date and the court does not immediately fine you. Instead, it issues a show cause order: a formal demand that you appear before a judge and explain why you did not show up.¹

At that hearing, the judge weighs your excuse. If the judge accepts it, you are released from service. You may still owe the costs of issuing and serving the show cause order, though the judge can waive those too.

If the judge finds your excuse insufficient, you are held in civil contempt and fined up to $500, plus the costs of the show cause order. There is a critical piece most people never hear about: the court will suspend everything above $50 if you agree to complete the jury service term you originally skipped.¹ Showing up late and serving anyway cuts the financial damage dramatically.

Ignoring the show cause order is a different situation. At that point the court can issue a warrant for your arrest. The underlying fine is civil rather than criminal, but an arrest warrant for disobeying a court order is a separate problem you do not want. If you have already missed your date, responding to the show cause and offering to serve is almost always the better move.

Legitimate Reasons to Be Excused

Tennessee recognizes two broad categories of valid excuse: medical incapacity and undue hardship. Neither is automatic. You have to request it, document it, and let the judge decide.

Medical Conditions

If a mental or physical condition makes you unable to serve, you can be excused with a licensed physician’s statement verifying the condition and explaining why it prevents service. A personal representative can submit the request for you if the condition itself prevents you from doing so.²

Extreme Financial or Physical Hardship

The hardship excuse is narrower than most people assume. It covers situations where you would have to abandon someone in your personal care because no substitute is available, where you would suffer significant financial loss that threatens your basic living expenses, or where you have a medical condition short of full incapacity.² You have to back the claim up with tax returns, physician statements, proof of guardianship, a caregiver affidavit, or similar documentation. Requests without documentation are routinely denied.

If You Are 75 or Older

Jurors aged 75 and above can request a permanent excuse, but age by itself does not qualify you. You also need a mental or physical condition that prevents you from serving. The process is simpler than the standard hardship route: you or your representative submit a written declaration stating your name, date of birth, and the condition. No physician documentation is required for that declaration.²

Students

Full-time students can request a deferral when jury duty conflicts with exams or required coursework. Submit your course schedule as documentation. Courts generally grant these with the expectation that you will serve during a break or the following term.

Postponements for Scheduling

If your calendar just does not work for the date you were summoned, you can ask for a postponement without claiming hardship. Most counties allow one, and you will need to pick a new service date within 12 months. A second postponement typically requires an extraordinary circumstance such as a death in the family, sudden illness, or natural disaster.³

Jobs That Are Not Automatically Exempt

Tennessee does not grant automatic exemptions to law enforcement officers, teachers, attorneys, physicians, or elected officials. If you hold one of these positions, you are subject to the same rules as everyone else. You can request a hardship excuse like any other juror, but the court is under no obligation to grant it. Active-duty military members stationed away from their home county may qualify for a postponement under the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, which is a deferral rather than a permanent exemption.

How to Respond to the Summons the Right Way

You have 10 days from receiving the summons to respond by mail if you want to claim ineligibility, request an excuse, or postpone your service.³ The summons itself contains a detachable qualification form where you indicate the reason.

Include your supporting documentation in that same response: physician’s statement, tax returns, proof of guardianship, caregiver affidavit, or whatever fits your situation.² Some counties accept submissions by mail, email, or in person at jury orientation.⁴

Lost the summons, or cannot remember your reporting date? Call your county’s jury coordinator. Davidson County, as one example, lets you call (615) 862-5294 or email the jury staff to confirm your status.⁵ Losing the paper does not excuse you from appearing. The court’s records still show you were summoned.

If the court denies your request, you must appear on your assigned date. Failing to show after a denial puts you in the same position as someone who never responded at all.

What You Give Up by Skipping

Weigh the $500 contempt exposure against what you actually lose by serving. Tennessee law prohibits employers from firing or discriminating against employees who take time off for jury duty, provided you give the required advance notice. An employer who violates that protection commits a Class A misdemeanor, and a wrongfully terminated juror is entitled to reinstatement plus reimbursement for lost wages and benefits.⁶

Employers with five or more employees must also pay you your usual compensation while you serve. The employer may deduct the daily jury attendance fee from your paycheck, but cannot dock your pay beyond that. The requirement does not apply to employers with fewer than five workers or to employees who have been on a temporary basis for less than six months.⁶

The state’s baseline juror pay is modest. Tennessee guarantees at least $10 per day of attendance, and individual counties can vote to increase it.⁷ For most working jurors with employer coverage, that daily fee is what the employer deducts, so it partially offsets the employer’s obligation rather than adding income on top. The practical point: for most Tennesseans, the real cost of serving is the time, not the paycheck, and the real cost of skipping can be considerably higher.

1
FindLaw. Tennessee Code 22-2-309 – Jurors and Jurors
2
Justia. Tennessee Code 22-1-103 – Excuse from Service – Undue or Extreme Physical or Financial Hardship
3
Tennessee State Courts. Jury Summons and Juror Qualification Form
4
Knox County Chancery Court. Juror Excusal Forms Information
5
Jury Duty of Metropolitan Nashville & Davidson County. Frequently Asked Questions – Jury Duty
6
FindLaw. Tennessee Code 22-4-106 – Juries and Jurors
7
Justia. Tennessee Code 22-4-101 – Per Diem and Travel Allowance