[9YearLurker]

My experience in MA and NY is that you can delay it for a year and then you only need wait at the courthouse up to a couple of hours if you’re not immediately assigned to a trial. Then you’d be excused for at least three years, I think it was.

I’d have thought Iowans would be well enough behaved not to have to place such a heavy jury obligation on their law abiding vast majority!

[Clyde5445]

When I got my Jury Duty summianze I had to call every night and wait to see if my name(number got called) about a week later my number got called and I had to report in person at the county court. I got dismissed. They even payed me 40 for a half a day.

[2ndDivisionVet]

Polk county is probably different than the other 98 counties.

[kevkrom]

My experience in MA and NY is that you can delay it for a year and then you only need wait at the courthouse up to a couple of hours if you’re not immediately assigned to a trial. Then you’d be excused for at least three years, I think it was.

Every locality has its own rules. Here in Montgomery County (People's Republic of Maryland), the rule is "one day or one trial" -- I don't recall how often they can summon you, but here's the way it works:

• You may ask for a deferral which is pretty much automatically granted, but then you must appear (except see below) on the second call.
• You are given juror number and you are directed to call in the night before -- if your juror number is equal to or below the posted number, you must report the next day, otherwise you are excused and it counts as having served.
• If you do report, you must go to the county courthouse, check in, and go to the holding room where you greeted by a county judge and get to watch a lovely video about the need for a jury system.
• The potential jurors remain in the "holding room" (it's actually a section of the floor), but there are decent amenities -- TV, a place to set up laptops, etc., with internet and power, vending machines, and the like.
• If you are not empaneled by the end of the day (or the end of the docket, whichever comes first), you are dismissed and counted as having served.

On the whole, pretty painless. I made it all the way through the process last time I got called up, except I never got put into a specific trial pool. We were dismissed shortly after the lunch break.