I was on jury duty twice in my adult life (knock on wood). Once was in a city I lived in when I was in my 20s and I went for two days and sat in the waiting room and that was it. I read a book while I waited. The second time was where I live now, and I just had to call in to a number three nights in a row, in reference to the next day’s service, and all three days it said there were no trials scheduled so therefore no need to show up.
I wouldn’t object to being called in my county, which, the courthouse is about a 20 minute ride from here so it would be do-able. The problem where I live is the catchment area for Federal Court is downtown (way down) New York City, which is about an hour and a half on the train, plus getting to the station and finding parking, plus on the other end, taking a subway from Grand Central to the bottom of Manhattan. The last time I went to court for my job, I had to leave the house around 5:30 in the morning to arrive around 9:30, and it was a big, big pain in the ass. It would be easier for me to drive to Federal Court in Albany (about a two hour drive total), and that would be a big hassle, too. I did receive a Jury Summons for Federal Court once, about 10 years ago, and it had some exceptions on it, one was related to a physical handicap, and one was related to having a child under the age of 12, and I had both of those disqualifications so I got out of it.
I know that they say everyone should serve and it’s very hard to get out of, but I feel that if someone works for themselves, they should be able to get out of it. I don’t work for myself so I’m not talking about myself, but for example, if someone is an Accountant, working for themself, for example, and they’re out of the house for several days to several weeks, that means no income for them.