Colorado Jury Duty Has No Exemptions for Old Age. That Could Change Soon.

Colorado is just one of nine states that doesn't let residents get out of jury duty for being too old, but that might change soon.

This week, state legislators will vote on a bill to allow Coloradans aged 72 and older to opt out of jury duty, temporarily or permanently. House Bill 1065 faces its first vote on Thursday, January 30, in the House State, Civic, Military & Veterans Affairs Committee.

"In my district, there is a large population of older adults. They brought this idea to me," says Representative Carlos Barron, a prime sponsor behind the proposal. He says seniors in his Fort Lupton community often struggle to find transportation to the courthouse or don't feel well enough to participate: “It’s important for them to have the choice if they want to continue their jury duty service.”

State-level age exemptions for jury duty are offered in 41 states, ranging from as young as age 65 in Mississippi to as old as eighty in Maine, according to the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). Colorado’s proposed exemption would start at 72, because that is the age at which Colorado judges are forced to retire under the state constitution, according to Representative Bob Marshall, the bill's other prime sponsor.

"If the judge isn’t even allowed to sit on a trial if older than 72, we certainly should grant the option to those over that age without them having to provide doctor notes or travel to the courthouse to be excused," Marshall adds.

Under the proposed bill, including amendments that sponsors plan to introduce on January 30, seniors aged 72 and older could temporarily remove themselves from the jury pool for one year at a time, after which they would automatically be reentered. Or they could permanently opt out — an action that could not be reversed.

With Marshall (a Democrat) and Barron (a Republican) at the helm, the bill has already achieved bipartisan support. But it's not without critics and questions.

The Colorado District Attorneys’ Council opposes the proposal. AARP is registered only as "monitoring" the bill. The Colorado Municipal League and Office of the Colorado State Public Defender both declined to take a position on the bill when asked by Westword.

"We want to make sure that juries represent a broad cross-section of society," says Pat Mueller, spokesperson for the Colorado District Attorneys’ Council. "Individuals in this age group already can be excused for any hardship or medical condition that might make civic service too burdensome or unreasonable. The meaningful participation of all ages and demographics is vital to ensuring a well-rounded, thoughtful deliberation and fair outcomes in our justice system."

Current state law allows individuals summoned for jury duty to be excused on a case-by-case basis for "serious physical or mental illness," though they must provide a doctor's note. Other accepted excuses include breastfeeding a child, being the sole caretaker of a permanently disabled person, or not being able to read, speak and understand English.

The proposed bill would let seniors remove themselves from the jury pool before they are even summoned, or up to seven days before their appearance date if they are summoned. Marshall argues that this would save time and effort on all sides.

"I hope our senior citizens who are able to do their duty continue to serve, but if they can’t and are over the mandatory retirement age for judges, they shouldn’t have to 'prove' they can’t to the court," he says. "It will also cut down a bit on administrative time for the courts to excuse those who have a valid reason not to sit on the jury."

Convenience is a leading inspiration for other parts of the bill, too. In addition to exempting people over 72, the bill would allow temporary opt-outs for full-time students attending college out of state (lasting for the school year) and people out of state for business (lasting six months).

Current law lets out-of-state college students postpone jury duty for up to twelve months if they are summoned, and anyone can request to postpone for up to six months for business, vacation and health conflicts. However, Barron says his constituents still struggle to get postponements; he spoke of one college student who almost bought a last-minute flight to Colorado in fear of missing his court date before his postponement request went through at the last second.

This is Barron's first bill of his legislative career after he was elected to the State House in November. While on the campaign trail, Barron says many of the issues voters raised to him require federal intervention to address, but this is a problem he can fix at the state level, he explains.

“Jury duty is an important pillar to our judicial system. I am not against it at all. This is just a bill to help out the people who really need it," Barron says. “This is important to the older adults in my district. We should help them as much as we can.”