New MO Law Excuses People 75 and Older From Jury Duty

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has approved a law waiving the jury duty requirement for people older than 75, reports KCTV5 . "The people who are in poor health or have difficulty sitting for long periods of time, difficulty with stairs, things like that, they might have already been excused," says attorney Tracy Spradlin. "So it might not actually be that much of a difference from what we're seeing now." A candidate juror may presently be excused if they have sat on a jury in the past three years, are a nursing mother, cannot leave work for public safety reasons, or have extenuating health or financial circumstances. "It's important that they still realize we want them serving on juries," Spradlin notes. "We want those viewpoints and we need people with life experience serving on juries so that they can help some other people on the jury, who might be younger, make those connections and see those other viewpoints."