Postponement and excusal from jury service

(a) Postponement. (1) A prospective juror who has received the initial jury summons is entitled, upon notifying the commissioner of jurors, to a postponement of jury service to a specific jury term date that is not more than six months after the date such service is to commence as set forth in the summons. The prospective juror may notify the commissioner by telephone that he or she is seeking such postponement and shall select an appropriate date to which service is to be postponed. A request for postponement shall be made at such time as the commissioner shall require. The commissioner, in his or her discretion, may grant a postponement of jury service for greater than six months, but only upon good cause shown. (2) The commissioner may grant a prospective juror's subsequent request for a postponement of jury service, but only upon a written application, containing documentation acceptable to the commissioner, showing that an inability to obtain a postponement would result in a hardship that was unanticipated at the time of the prior postponement. Absent extraordinary circumstances, the commissioner shall not grant a prospective juror more than three postponements of jury service, nor shall the aggregate period of postponements granted to a prospective juror exceed 18 months. (b) Excusal. (1) A prospective juror who has received a jury summons may apply to be excused from jury service by submitting a written application for excusal to the commissioner, at such time as the commissioner shall require. Such application for excusal may be granted only if the prospective juror has demonstrated satisfactorily the (i) he or she has a mental or physical condition that renders him or her incapable of performing jury service, or that jury service would cause undue hardship or extreme inconvenience to the prospective juror, a person under his or her care or supervision, or the public, and (ii) he or she will be unable to serve as a juror on a date certain within the time restrictions applicable to postponements set forth in subdivision (a) of this section. The application shall contain documentation, satisfactory to the commissioner, supporting the ground for excusal. The commissioner may, in his or her discretion, consider an application for excusal by a prospective juror before the juror has received a jury summons if the juror has returned the juror qualification questionnaire. (2) If the application for excusal is granted and the facts underlying the ground for the excusal are not of a permanent nature, the excusal shall be for a specific period of time not to exceed 24 months or, in extraordinary cases, beyond 24 months, after which the prospective juror shall become eligible for re-qualification as a juror. If the facts underlying the ground for excusal are of a permanent nature, the excusal shall be permanent. (c) Recordkeeping. The commissioner of jurors shall maintain a list of the names of persons excused or postponed from service as a trial juror, with an indication of the reasons therefor insofar as practicable, and which shall include the time periods for which the persons have been postponed or excused. A judge hearing an application for postponement or excusal shall provide notice of his or her determination expeditiously to the commissioner of jurors for inclusion in such records. (d) Guidelines. The commissioner or jurors shall conform to such guidelines as may be promulgated by the Chief Administrator of the Courts in determining whether to grant postponements and excusals from jury service.