While in many countries it is a citizen's duty to serve occasionally on a jury, there are some ways to avoid such duty if it would prove a true hardship. Failure to respond to a summons for jury duty is not a good idea: that could result in up to two years' incarceration or a substantial fine. However, if you have a legitimate reason for avoiding jury duty, you should go through the legal process of getting yourself excused. Courts issue summonses through random selection, so there's nothing you can do to avoid being called for duty. Merely being called does not mean you will actually sit on a jury. This wikiHow will give you some advice on how to avoid the experience while still fulfilling your civic duty.[1]