--- name: jury-duty-navigator description: "Handle a jury summons calmly — confirm it's real, understand what's actually required, request a deferral or excusal the right way if you genuinely need one, arrange work and pay, and know what to expect at selection and on the day. Use when someone says I got a jury summons, can I get out of jury duty, how do I defer jury service, or what happens at jury duty. Produces a response plan, a deferral/excusal request if warranted, and a what-to-expect brief, with a clear warning that ignoring a summons has consequences. Not legal advice; routes to the court for anything binding and never coaches dodging a legal obligation." --- # Jury Duty Navigator Skill A jury summons lands with a jolt of dread and a stack of questions: is this even real, do I *have* to, what about work, can I move it? Most of that dread is uncertainty, and the summons itself answers much of it. This skill demystifies the process, helps you respond correctly and on time (missing a real summons has real consequences), and — where you have a genuine hardship or conflict — helps you request a deferral or excusal the legitimate way. It routes anything binding to the court, and it does not help anyone dodge a civic duty they're able to serve. ## What This Skill Produces - A **response plan**: what the summons requires and by when, so nothing is missed (responding on time is itself often mandatory) - A **scam check**: real courts don't demand payment, gift cards, or SSNs by phone — the "you missed jury duty, pay a fine now" call is a common scam, and this flags it - A **deferral or excusal request**, if you genuinely qualify: the legitimate grounds (dates, hardship, caregiving, medical, prior commitments) and how to ask, on the court's own process - The **logistics**: work notification and your pay/leave rights (routed to verify), what to bring, and a plain what-to-expect-on-the-day walkthrough to defuse the fear ## Required Inputs Ask for (if not already provided): - What the summons says (jurisdiction, dates, what response it requires and by when) - Whether there's a genuine conflict or hardship (a booked trip, a caregiving duty, a medical issue, exam dates) — vs simple reluctance - Work situation and whether they know their employer's jury-leave policy / legal protections - First-timer nerves vs specific procedural questions ## Framework 1. **Confirm it's genuine, then respond on time.** Verify the summons is from the real court (via the court's own published contact, not a number in a suspicious message) and calendar the response deadline immediately — in many places responding is compulsory even if you'll seek to be excused. On-time response is the first duty. 2. **Screen the scam version.** A phone call or text claiming you missed jury duty and must pay a fine / buy gift cards / confirm your SSN to avoid arrest is fraud — no court works that way. If that's what prompted this, the skill's main job is to stop the user paying and route them to report it. 3. **Separate genuine conflict from reluctance — honestly.** Legitimate grounds for deferral (moving the date) or excusal (being released) typically include prebooked travel, caregiving with no alternative, medical issues, financial hardship, or recent prior service — and they vary by court. The skill helps make a *real* case the proper way; it will not manufacture an excuse or coach evasion for someone simply unwilling. 4. **Make the request the court's way.** Draft the deferral/excusal request to the court's stated process and grounds, with the documentation they ask for, submitted by their deadline. Prefer deferral (serve later) over excusal where the issue is timing — courts grant it more readily. 5. **Sort work, pay, and the day itself.** Notify the employer (jury leave is often legally protected — route to verify local rights and any pay/reimbursement), pack what the summons requires, and walk through the actual day (check-in, waiting, selection, that most summoned people aren't seated) so the unknown stops being scary. ## Output Format ``` ## Is it real? (check first) [How to verify with the court directly · the scam-call red flags if relevant] ## What you must do, by when [The required response and its deadline — responding is usually mandatory] ## Deferral or excusal? (only if you genuinely qualify) [Honest read of whether you have grounds · deferral vs excusal · the request, drafted to the court's process · documentation needed] ## Work, pay, and rights [Employer notification · jury-leave protections and pay — verify locally] ## What the day is actually like [Check-in → waiting → selection → most aren't seated — the fear-defuser] ``` ## Quality Checks - [ ] The summons's response deadline is surfaced as time-critical, and its authenticity is confirmed via the court directly - [ ] The jury-duty scam pattern is flagged whenever a payment/threat prompted the query - [ ] Deferral/excusal is offered only for genuine grounds, on the court's process — never as manufactured evasion - [ ] Work-leave rights and pay are routed to verify, not asserted - [ ] The what-to-expect walkthrough is included for first-timers ## Anti-Patterns - [ ] Do not coach dodging jury service for someone able to serve — it's a civic and often legal obligation; help with genuine hardship only - [ ] Do not assert deferral/excusal rules, leave rights, or pay as fact — they vary by jurisdiction; route to the court and the official employment rules - [ ] Do not miss the scam angle — the fake-jury-fine call fleeces people constantly - [ ] Do not fabricate hardship documentation or grounds - [ ] Do not add to the dread — the tone is calming and practical throughout ## Related [[scam-message-decoder]] for the jury-fine scam; [[voting-navigator]] and [[elected-rep-letter]] for the rest of civic life; [[saying-no-kindly]] for the work conversation. ## Example Trigger Phrases - "Can I get out of jury duty?" - "How do I defer jury service?" - "What happens at jury duty?"