How to get excused from jury duty in Bradley County, Tennessee
The excusal routes Bradley County, Tennessee actually recognizes — what each one needs, who decides, and where it goes.
In Bradley a letter you write is the whole mechanism, and a judge reads it before your report date. The jury coordinator told this project by email on 10 September 2026 that “everything here is done by the judge” and that there is no form — not for hardship, not for anything. Asked directly whether a written request is read in advance or only heard in the courtroom, she answered: “He reads them when they are submitted.” So there is no clerk to persuade and no hearing to wait for; what you send is what is considered. Two more things she settled. A medical note comes from your doctor. And an excusal here has no time limit — unusual, and it makes what a doctor says about duration matter more than it does almost anywhere else.
Your routes in Bradley County, Tennessee
AgeNot automatic here — the county points to the statute
Bradley will not say that age on its own is enough. Asked directly, the office answered that it depends on Tennessee statute — and, as with everything else here, the judge decides.
Jury coordinator, Bradley County Circuit Court — by email, 10 September 2026. Asked whether being over a certain age is enough on its own, or whether it still needs a medical reason, the office answered: “This depends on TN statute.”
This project does not hold the Tennessee text, so nothing is asserted here about what that statute provides. What is recorded is what the county said: age is not treated as an automatic local courtesy in Bradley, and the answer turns on law rather than on office practice.
That is worth knowing, because it is the ninth county to be asked this question and the answers have gone nine different ways. Only one has said that age alone is enough — and there it came from a written local court policy. Ask the Circuit Civil line what the statute provides for your age before you plan around it.
See the full detail →This project does not hold the Tennessee text, so nothing is asserted here about what that statute provides. What is recorded is what the county said: age is not treated as an automatic local courtesy in Bradley, and the answer turns on law rather than on office practice.
That is worth knowing, because it is the ninth county to be asked this question and the answers have gone nine different ways. Only one has said that age alone is enough — and there it came from a written local court policy. Ask the Circuit Civil line what the statute provides for your age before you plan around it.
PostponementThe judge decides — but confirmation is sent
How many postponements, and how far out, are up to the judge. There is no published limit and no form. The office does send confirmation.
Jury coordinator, Bradley County Circuit Court — by email, 10 September 2026. Asked how many postponements someone can have and how far out, the office answered: “That is up to the judge as well and yes, we send confirmation.”
No cap, no window, and no form. Several counties in this project publish exact numbers — one, or three, within six months of the original term. Bradley publishes none, because the decision is not the office’s to make.
The practical consequence is that what you propose matters more here than it does where the date is assigned by rule. Offer specific alternative dates rather than asking to be moved.
See the full detail →No cap, no window, and no form. Several counties in this project publish exact numbers — one, or three, within six months of the original term. Bradley publishes none, because the decision is not the office’s to make.
The practical consequence is that what you propose matters more here than it does where the date is assigned by rule. Offer specific alternative dates rather than asking to be moved.
Medical conditionYour doctor writes it — and duration is not capped
The office confirmed the note comes from your doctor, not from you. There is no form, a judge decides, and there is no time limit on what may be granted.
Jury coordinator, Bradley County Circuit Court — by email, 10 September 2026. Two answers shape this. On who writes it: “Doctor.” On how long an excusal lasts: “There is not a time limit.” And on the mechanism generally: “everything here is done by the judge,” with “no form.”
That combination is unusual and it is the reason this entry exists. In counties that grant excusals for a term, a doctor’s letter only has to establish that you cannot attend this time. Here there is nothing capping what a judge may grant, so what the letter says about duration is not a formality — it is the part the judge has the most discretion over.
One caution that applies everywhere: several counties in this project have said in terms that they want no diagnosis and no records. Bradley has not said that either way. Ask the Circuit Civil line what it wants before your doctor writes anything, and do not send records unprompted.
That combination is unusual and it is the reason this entry exists. In counties that grant excusals for a term, a doctor’s letter only has to establish that you cannot attend this time. Here there is nothing capping what a judge may grant, so what the letter says about duration is not a formality — it is the part the judge has the most discretion over.
One caution that applies everywhere: several counties in this project have said in terms that they want no diagnosis and no records. Bradley has not said that either way. Ask the Circuit Civil line what it wants before your doctor writes anything, and do not send records unprompted.
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Prepare your What Your Doctor Needs to Write →Financial hardshipA judge reads your letter before your report date
No form, no clerk, no hearing to wait for. You write to the judge and the office confirmed that he reads written requests when they are submitted.
Jury coordinator, Bradley County Circuit Court — by email, 10 September 2026. Asked who writes a hardship request and whether it is decided from what is sent in or has to be raised in person, the office answered: “everything here is done by the judge.” Asked whether there is a form: “There is not.”
Asked in a follow-up whether that judge reads a written request before the report date or only hears it in the room, the coordinator answered in five words: “He reads them when they are submitted.”
That settles what this page could not say this morning. Your letter is not a formality ahead of a hearing and it is not something a clerk files — it is the thing a judge actually reads, before you are due to report. Which also means there is nobody to follow up with and nothing to argue in person: what you put in it is what gets considered.
One thing the office has still never said is what the letter has to contain — no required juror number, no signature block, no list. So write it as you would explain it to a person, and put your juror number and contact details on it because every county that has specified anything has wanted those.
Before you write anything at all, check the employer question. Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 22-4-106 an employer with five or more employees must pay your usual wages while you serve, and may deduct the juror fee the court pays you. It does not apply to smaller employers, or to people hired temporarily for less than six months. For a great many jurors that provision is the answer, and there is nothing left to ask the court for.
Asked in a follow-up whether that judge reads a written request before the report date or only hears it in the room, the coordinator answered in five words: “He reads them when they are submitted.”
That settles what this page could not say this morning. Your letter is not a formality ahead of a hearing and it is not something a clerk files — it is the thing a judge actually reads, before you are due to report. Which also means there is nobody to follow up with and nothing to argue in person: what you put in it is what gets considered.
One thing the office has still never said is what the letter has to contain — no required juror number, no signature block, no list. So write it as you would explain it to a person, and put your juror number and contact details on it because every county that has specified anything has wanted those.
Before you write anything at all, check the employer question. Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 22-4-106 an employer with five or more employees must pay your usual wages while you serve, and may deduct the juror fee the court pays you. It does not apply to smaller employers, or to people hired temporarily for less than six months. For a great many jurors that provision is the answer, and there is nothing left to ask the court for.
$19.97 · prepared for you, reviewed before you send it.
Prepare your Hardship Letter →Contact the court
Bradley County Circuit & Criminal Court Clerk — 155 North Ocoee Street, Cleveland, TN 37311Jury line: (423) 728-7214
Jury questions go to the Circuit Civil line specifically rather than the general clerk number — using the right one first saves a round trip. Fax (423) 728-7210. The office confirmed on 10 September 2026 that it does send confirmation of what the judge decides, so you should not have to chase it.
Jury questions go to the Circuit Civil line specifically rather than the general clerk number — using the right one first saves a round trip. Fax (423) 728-7210. The office confirmed on 10 September 2026 that it does send confirmation of what the judge decides, so you should not have to chase it.
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JuryFree prepares documents and guidance from the facts you provide. It is not a law firm and does not give legal advice or guarantee any outcome. Court rules and deadlines vary by county and change over time — confirm with the court before you rely on anything here. Questions: [email protected].