Jury Duty

Smith College students are often selected to serve on various juries within Hampshire County. The Massachusetts jury system is based on serving for one day or one trial. Jury eligibility is determined by your place of residency (in this case as a Hampshire County, Massachusetts, student resident). One does not have to be a registered voter to be selected to serve on a Massachusetts jury, although one must be a U.S. citizen. Therefore, qualified Smith College students are eligible to be called. The call to jury duty includes the option for one postponement. Many students elect to serve jury duty at the beginning of a semester, or during vacation or study break. If called for jury duty, it is not possible to be exempted, even after recently serving on a jury in another state. A student who is called for jury duty and must miss class as a result is encouraged to speak with her professors ahead of the date and to notify her class dean.

For further information:  http://www.mass.gov/courts/jury/index2.htm