§ 517 — Excuses and postponements

New York § 517

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Law JUD: Judiciary
• Art. 16: Selection of Jurors

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§ 517. Excuses and postponements. (a) (1) Except as otherwise provided\nin paragraph two of this subdivision, the commissioner of jurors may, in\nhis or her discretion, on the application of a prospective juror who has\nbeen summoned to attend, excuse such prospective juror from a part or\nthe whole of the time of jury service or may postpone the time of jury\nservice to a later day during the same or any subsequent term of the\ncourt, provided that if the prospective juror is a breastfeeding mother\nand submits with her application a note from a physician indicating that\nthe prospective juror is breastfeeding, the commissioner shall excuse\nthe prospective juror or postpone the time of jury service. The\napplication shall be presented to the commissioner at such time and in\nsuch manner as he or she shall require, except that an application for\npostponement of the initial date for jury service may be made by\ntelephone.\n (2) An application for postponement of jury service shall be granted\nhereunder provided: (i) such service has not already been postponed or\nexcused, (ii) the application is made at such time and in such manner as\nthe commissioner of jurors requires, and (iii) the postponement is to a\ndate certain when the court is in session not more than six months after\nthe date on which such service otherwise is to commence and such date is\nselected by the prospective juror, provided that if the prospective\njuror is a breastfeeding mother, the postponement date may be a date\ncertain up to two years after the date on which such service otherwise\nis to commence.\n (b) A person whose application has been denied by the commissioner, or\nwho has not applied to the commissioner for an excuse or postponement,\nmay apply to the trial court, or to the court having supervision of the\ngrand jury, as the case may be, which may, in its discretion, excuse\nsuch person from a part or the whole of the time of jury service, or may\npostpone the time of jury service to a later day during the same or any\nsubsequent term of the court. If the applicant cannot personally attend,\nhe or she shall send the summons and application by a person capable of\nmaking the necessary proof in relation to the application.\n (c) In determining whether an application for excusal should be\ngranted, the commissioner or the court shall consider whether the\napplicant has a mental or physical condition that causes him or her to\nbe incapable of performing jury service or there is any other fact\nindicates that attendance for jury service in accordance with the\nsummons would cause undue hardship or extreme inconvenience to the\napplicant, a person under his or her care or supervision, or the public.\nExcept as provided in paragraph two of subdivision (a) of this section,\nin determining whether an application for postponement should be\ngranted, the commissioner or the court shall be guided by standards\npromulgated by the chief administrator of the courts.\n