All Anglosphere countries (US, UK, CA, AU & NZ) have jury duty which is mandatory for both neurodivergent and neurotypicals when they’re given a summons. I mean, Autism is considered a legitimate excuse (if you assert how the condition is hindering civic duty, since saying Autism on its own is a hit or miss & won’t guarantee an immediate excusal or whether the judge will believe you despite them being the arbiter).
That is, if you’re called on the panel facing the lawyers at mercy if they’ll pick you as a juror or be dismissed. You can plead your case if you’re selected and refuse to serve (granted that you present medical proof or psychological assessment mentioning Autism). Jury duty is something both neurodivergent and neurotypicals end up on the same boat as it’s mandatory for them to show up in court otherwise they’ll be fined or jailed.
Why do you feel you need a permanent excusal from it? I think many autistic people would do a good job at jury duty
There’s a bunch of legitimate reasons to be excused from selection, go down the list and pick one that applies to you. You have classes at university. You have children to take care of.
The nuclear option would be to say/answer something that would obviously prejudice you against serving objectively. “If he’s in court, he’s probably guilty.” “I don’t trust cops.” This could work, but they may try to give you a hard time if they believe you aren’t sincere and are just trying to dodge. I am not a lawyer, this is not legal advice, etc.
If anyone wants out of jury duty, just start talking about “jury nullification” and the prosecuter will do cartwheels to get you disqualified.
Even better, don’t say ANYTHING about jury nullification, until you get into the deliberation of guilt for a victimless crime, then tell all the other jurors about it.
Don’t dodge jury duty unless you have a very good reason. Do your civic duty.
If it’s something like you need a break every so often, be upfront about it, “I’m autistic and need a defined break every hour to stay engaged” or similar might be enough to get you tossed from the pool, but it’s not permanent. I assume most lawyers/judges will not want so many breaks, as that draws out the process and can kill flow.
Aside from that, in the USA, there is both federal and state level jury duty, so even if you find the magic form for your state to pull yourself from the list, you may still get called for federal jury duty.
Other question: If you’re autistic, can you request a specifically autistic jury so you can have a jury of your peers?
They can’t where I live. No one can. It is tied to your health card (card you use to access the healthcare system). The website about jury duty in Ontario says that people may receive an eligibility form even if they are in long term care, or have someone acting as Power of Attorney.
I think the idea is that if you fill out the form indicating that you aren’t able to mentally or physically serve you won’t get summoned unless they really need people. You don’t need to provide documentation at the eligibility form stage.
I’m in my 40s and I’ve never been summoned. I’ve filled out the form once or twice, but said I could do it. I’ve always lived in fairly populated areas. I live rural now, but I believe the closest courthouse is in the nearby city. Maybe if you live in a less densely populated area you are more likely to be called.
