Oklahoma § 38-28 - Qualifications and exemptions

§ 38-28. Qualifications and exemptions

A. It is the policy of this state that all citizens qualified

for jury service pursuant to this section have an obligation to

serve on petit juries when summoned by the courts of this state,

unless excused.

B. All citizens of the United States, residing in this state,

having the qualifications of electors of this state, are competent

jurors to serve on all grand and petit juries within their counties;

provided, that persons over seventy (70) years of age and persons

who have served as a grand or petit juror during the last five (5)

immediately preceding calendar years shall not be compelled to serve

as jurors in this state and the court may excuse or discharge any

juror drawn and summoned as a grand or petit juror if:

1. The prospective juror has a mental or physical condition

that causes him or her to be incapable of performing jury service.

The juror, or the juror's personal representative, shall provide the

court with documentation from a physician, physician assistant, or

advanced practice registered nurse licensed to practice medicine

verifying that a mental or physical condition renders the person

unfit for jury service for a period of up to twenty-four (24)

months; or

2. Jury service would cause undue or extreme physical or

financial hardship to the prospective juror or a person under his or

her care or supervision. A judge of the court for which the

individual was called to jury service shall make undue or extreme

physical or financial hardship determinations. The authority to

make these determinations is delegable only to court officials or

personnel who are authorized by the laws of this state to function

as members of the judiciary. A person requesting to be excused

based on a finding of undue or extreme physical or financial

hardship shall take all actions necessary to have obtained a ruling

on that request by no later than the date on which the individual is

scheduled to appear for jury duty. For purposes of this section,

"undue or extreme physical or financial hardship" is limited to

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 38. Jurors

circumstances in which an individual would be required to abandon a

person under his or her personal care or supervision due to the

impossibility of obtaining an appropriate substitute caregiver

during the period of participation in the jury pool or on the jury,

incur costs that would have a substantial adverse impact on the

payment of the individual's necessary daily living expenses or on

those for whom he or she provides the principal means of support, or

suffer physical hardship that would result in illness or disease.

Undue or extreme physical or financial hardship does not exist

solely based on the fact that a prospective juror will be required

to be absent from his or her place of employment. A person

requesting a judge to grant an excuse based on undue or extreme

physical or financial hardship shall be required to provide the

judge with documentation, such as, but not limited to, federal and

state income tax returns, medical statements from licensed

physicians, proof of dependency or guardianship, and similar

documents, which the judge finds to clearly support the request to

be excused. Failure to provide satisfactory documentation shall

result in a denial of the request to be excused.

After two (2) years, a person excused from jury service shall

become eligible once again for qualification as a juror unless the

person was excused from service permanently. A person is excused

from jury service permanently only when the deciding judge

determines that the underlying grounds for being excused are of a

permanent nature.

C. Persons who are not qualified to serve as jurors are:

1. Justices of the Supreme Court or the Court of Civil Appeals;

2. Judges of the Court of Criminal Appeals or the district

court;

3. Sheriffs or deputy sheriffs;

4. Municipal or state law enforcement officers employed in any

county with a population of two hundred fifty-five thousand

(255,000) or more;

5. Federal law enforcement officers;

6. Licensed attorneys engaged in the practice of law;

7. Persons who have been convicted of any felony or who have

served a term of imprisonment in any penitentiary, state or federal,

for the commission of a felony; provided, any such citizen

convicted, who has been fully restored to his or her civil rights,

shall be eligible to serve as a juror; and

8. Legislators during a session of the Legislature or when

involved in state business.

D. Jailers, or municipal or state law enforcement officers in a

county with a population of less than two hundred fifty-five

thousand (255,000), shall be eligible to serve on noncriminal

actions only.

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 38. Jurors

E. Upon his or her request, a person shall be exempt from

service as a juror if the person is:

1. A member of the Armed Forces of the United States who is

serving on active duty during a time of war or declared hostilities;

or

2. A mother who is breast-feeding a baby.

F. The district court may provide electronic resources for

persons summoned for jury duty to obtain information about their

jury service and to submit information to the court, including but

not limited to communications via telephone, text message,

electronic mail and website. The court may utilize an approved

electronic jury management system to record, process, respond to,

and maintain juror communications. The court clerk and the trial

court administrator, under the supervision and control of the

presiding judge or chief judge, or any district judge acting as his

or her designee, may be authorized to make determinations regarding

juror excusals, exemptions, disqualifications, postponements and

deferrals. However, determinations regarding extreme physical or

financial hardship shall be made as provided in paragraph 2 of

subsection B of this section.

G. Information provided to the court pursuant to this section

by persons summoned for jury service shall be used exclusively for

purposes of determining jury disqualifications or excusals. No

person shall disclose, copy or permit any person to copy this

information for purposes other than jury management.

Added by Laws 1949, p. 282, § 11, emerg. eff. June 2, 1949. Amended

by Laws 1951, p. 111, § 1, emerg. eff. May 16, 1951; Laws 1953, p.

140, § 1, emerg. eff. April 13, 1953; Laws 1957, p. 410, § 1, emerg.

eff. May 13, 1957; Laws 1959, p. 173, § 1; Laws 1971, c. 253, § 1,

eff. Oct. 1, 1971; Laws 1973, c. 204, § 3, emerg. eff. May 17, 1973;

Laws 1975, c. 302, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 1975; Laws 1981, c. 184, § 1;

Laws 1994, c. 343, § 21, eff. Sept. 1, 1994; Laws 1996, c. 308, § 2,

eff. Nov. 1, 1996; Laws 1997, c. 2, § 3, emerg. eff. Feb. 26, 1997;

Laws 2004, c. 525, § 8, eff. July 1, 2004; Laws 2005, c. 1, § 42,

emerg. eff. March 15, 2005; Laws 2008, c. 339, § 1, eff. Nov. 1,

2008; Laws 2009, c. 10, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2009; Laws 2013, c. 168, §

1, eff. Nov. 1, 2013; Laws 2014, c. 15, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2014; Laws

2015, c. 242, § 11, emerg. eff. May 4, 2015; Laws 2021, c. 164, § 1,

eff. Nov. 1, 2021; Laws 2023, c. 7, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2023.

NOTE: Laws 1996, c. 97, § 17 repealed by Laws 1997, c. 2, § 26,

emerg. eff. Feb. 26, 1997. Laws 2004, c. 332, § 2 repealed by Laws

2005, c. 1, § 43, emerg. eff. March 15, 2005.