Jury Duty in Oklahoma

Persons over 70 and persons who served as a grand or petit juror during the last five calendar years cannot be compelled to serve. The court may also excuse a person who has a documented mental or physical condition making them incapable of serving (up to 24 months), or for whom service would cause undue or extreme physical or financial hardship (for example, no substitute caregiver for a person in their care); being absent from work alone is not a hardship, and documentation is required. On request, an active-duty member of the U.S. Armed Forces serving during war or declared hostilities, and a mother who is breast-feeding a baby, are exempt. Every summoned juror has the right to postpone the first appearance once, to a date within six months, by contacting the court clerk in person, by phone, e-mail or in writing; a second postponement requires an extreme emergency. Certain officials (judges, sheriffs, licensed practicing attorneys, legislators in session, some law enforcement) and people with unrestored felony convictions are not qualified.

Title 38 (Jurors) does not set a specific penalty for ignoring a jury summons. Oklahoma's contempt law treats willful disobedience of any process or order lawfully issued by a court as indirect contempt, and unless otherwise provided by law contempt is punishable by a fine of up to $500, up to six months in county jail, or both.

An employee who notifies the employer of a jury summons within a reasonable time may not be fired, removed, or subjected to other adverse employment action because of jury service, and may not be required or asked to use annual, vacation or sick leave for responding to the summons, jury selection, or serving. An employer who violates this is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $5,000, and is also liable to the employee for actual and exemplary damages (including lost earnings, lost leave and mental anguish). Employers do not have to pay wages for jury duty unless the employee chooses to use paid leave; a court must automatically postpone a juror whose employer has five or fewer full-time employees if another employee was already summoned for the same period. Jurors are paid $50 for each day's attendance before a court of record plus daily round-trip mileage under the State Travel Reimbursement Act.