Jury Duty Excuse Letter in Montana
A short letter asking the court to excuse you from jury duty or postpone it. Follow the instructions on your summons first, because courts handle these requests differently, and keep following the summons until the court answers.
What Montana law says
| Who can be excused from jury duty | The court or jury commissioner must excuse a person when jury service would be an 'undue hardship' for the person, a dependent, or the public the person serves; an excuse may be granted to a breastfeeding mother or someone who must personally care for a sick, aged, or special-needs dependent when substitute care is unavailable or impractical (§ 3-15-313(1)). To ask, send an affidavit to the jury commissioner stating the facts (§ 3-15-313(2)). A person chronically incapacitated by illness or injury may ask for a permanent exclusion with a physician's certification (§ 3-15-313(3)). On request, a person 75 years of age or older must be excused (§ 3-15-313(5)). Source: MCA § 3-15-313 |
|---|---|
| Penalty for skipping jury duty | A summoned juror who willfully and without reasonable excuse fails to attend may be attached (brought in) and compelled to attend, and the court may impose a fine not exceeding $50. If the juror was not personally served, the fine may be imposed only after an order to show cause gives the juror a chance to be heard; the court may remit, modify, or refund the fine for good cause. Source: MCA § 3-15-321 |
| Jury duty pay and your job | Juror pay: a grand or trial jury panel member receives $12 per day plus mileage under § 2-18-503, and jurors selected for a case receive an additional $13 a day while serving (§ 3-15-201(1)). For state employees, juror fees are applied against the pay the employee is owed, unless the employee uses annual leave, and the employee keeps expense and mileage allowances (§ 2-18-619). Government employers may ask the court to excuse employees needed for the proper operation of a unit of state or local government (§ 2-18-619(3)). State-employee rule: https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0020/chapter_0180/part_0060/section_0190/0020-0180-0060-0190.html Source: MCA §§ 3-15-201, 2-18-619 |
Fill it in
Nothing you type leaves your browser. Replace anything still highlighted, and keep a signed copy.
[today's date]
[your name]
[your mailing address]
[your phone or email]
To: [court or jury office name and address, from your summons]
Re: Jury summons. Juror number: [juror number from your summons]. Reporting date: [date you are told to report].
Dear [jury commissioner, clerk or judge named on your summons]:
I received a jury summons for the date above. I am asking to be [excused from / postponed from] jury service because [your reason, in one or two plain sentences].
I have attached [documents supporting your request, such as a doctor's note, or none].
If my service can be postponed, I can serve on these dates: [dates you are available].
Please tell me in writing whether my request is approved. I understand that I must follow the summons until I hear from the court.
Sincerely,
[your name]
Jury Duty Excuse Letter for other states · Montana tenant rights
Last verified against official sources: October 22, 2026.
How we source this page: each state-specific rule links to the statute, court rule or official government page it comes from. A rule taken from a public copy of a state code (used only where the official code is not freely readable online) is marked as a secondary source. Spot an error? Use the contact page to report it. About our sources
General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.