How to Avoid Jury Duty

As you all know, I'm turning 30 in less than 4 weeks. And in all the long years I've spent on this earth, I have never had to serve jury duty. How have I managed this feat, you might ask (unless you are busy berating me for ducking my civic duty). The key, my friends, is to always be registered to vote in a city other than the one in which you live. They can't make you serve if you don't live there. And the city you live in can't ask you to serve if you're not registered there. See how genius that is? See, I registerd to vote in SF, so when I was living in Foster City and was summoned, they couldn't touch me. Then I moved back to SF for a year. Luck was with me that year as my number wasn't called. Then I moved to Oakland for a year and a half and got called again. Nice try, suckers! Of course, now that I've been back in SF for over a year now, I have of course "gotten mine" (as in, "You'll get yours!").

Of course, I'm not going to take jury duty lying down (not that they'll let me). I'm going to plead financial hardship. You know, because I'm a contractor and all, so work won't pay me if I have to serve on a jury. One thing that makes me this gambit may not be successful. There are three choices for household income: Under $20k, $20-40k, and over $40k. Uh oh. I hope these jury folks aren't best buds with the IRS....