Anonymous
Post 02/18/2026 23:15     Subject: jury duty for college student
Anonymous wrote:What I think is odd is that at 18 you can die for your country but not drink a beer. If you can vote, you should be able to be on a jury.


+1 Not odd for an adult to be called for jury duty. In MoCo, you can just check the box that you're living out of state (there's also a place to upload attachments that show you're living elsewhere.) This is not a rare occurrence.
Anonymous
Post 02/18/2026 21:38     Subject: jury duty for college student
My high school senior was just called- she has a really high number so we decided to keep it and not risk being rescheduled for during a summer trip or something like that. Seems a bit crazy though. I am pretty sure she won’t need to report because of the high number but we will see.
Anonymous
Post 02/18/2026 20:05     Subject: jury duty for college student
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:What I think is odd is that at 18 you can die for your country but not drink a beer. If you can vote, you should be able to be on a jury.


This is such a stupid trope. Only low IQ people think this way.

What does one have to do with the other? At 18 you can die for your country but you cant do a LOT of things. What's so special about ... beer?

Idiot.


18 is a legal adult in the United States, which means, you can make adult decisions and be held accountable as an adult. You can vote, join the military, enter into binding agreements, such as apartment leases or purchasing a vehicle, marry without parental consent, legally change your name, Apply for credit cards and loans in your own name. However you must be 21 purchase alcohol, nicotine products (some states), to purchase a handgun from a licensed dealer and gamble in a casino. It is very odd that you can be 18, join the military, be issued a weapon, but you cannot have one for personal use. You can serve in the military and have a been while stationed in Germany, but not home in the US. It's odd.

Pondering that does not make one an idiot.

Missing from your list is driving. Why not allow casinos at 16, since that’s when you can get a license.

Anyway, Different ages for different activities make sense. Basically, at 18 you can do everything required to live as an adult, but the 21+ things are generally considered vices that no one needs, so no real incentive to give people the right to do it as soon as possible.


NP. If such laws are based on a belief that 18-year-olds aren't mature enough to make those decisions for themselves, then the same rationale would indicate we shouldn't hold them criminally responsible to the same degree as older individuals. And would also suggest they shouldn't have the same ability to enter into significant legal contracts, including military service.

If it is based on risk, then why is a narrow, young age range the only instance where we do that? Why not ban other demographic groups from certain activities if a given group carries a significantly elevated risk? e.g., 80 year olds have higher rates of fatal accidents than teens- why don't we ban them from driving or at least give them restricted licenses?
Anonymous
Post 02/18/2026 19:46     Subject: jury duty for college student
The first time I was called and was seated on a jury was in undergrad. There was no getting out of it for me. I was called in the county I attended college.

I’ve since been seated on 2 more juries and called to jury duty 6 times fed and state.
Anonymous
Post 02/18/2026 19:42     Subject: jury duty for college student
Anonymous wrote:My son just received a summons for Jury duty, he is a junior in an out of state college, he is not even 21 (he is not legal to drink, but can determine someone's fate). Obviously, he can't do it, just thought it was so weird. Did this happen to anyone else?


Everyone in Boston gets those. We’d just punt it to our study abroad semester and then get out of it later.
Anonymous
Post 02/18/2026 19:30     Subject: jury duty for college student
The legal drinking age has absolutely nothing to do with serving on a jury. Nothing. Not sure why you equate the two.
Anonymous
Post 02/18/2026 19:24     Subject: jury duty for college student
Anonymous wrote:My son just received a summons for Jury duty, he is a junior in an out of state college, he is not even 21 (he is not legal to drink, but can determine someone's fate). Obviously, he can't do it, just thought it was so weird. Did this happen to anyone else?


He can be drafted to fight in a war at 18.
Anonymous
Post 02/18/2026 18:29     Subject: jury duty for college student
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:What I think is odd is that at 18 you can die for your country but not drink a beer. If you can vote, you should be able to be on a jury.


This is such a stupid trope. Only low IQ people think this way.

What does one have to do with the other? At 18 you can die for your country but you cant do a LOT of things. What's so special about ... beer?

Idiot.


18 is a legal adult in the United States, which means, you can make adult decisions and be held accountable as an adult. You can vote, join the military, enter into binding agreements, such as apartment leases or purchasing a vehicle, marry without parental consent, legally change your name, Apply for credit cards and loans in your own name. However you must be 21 purchase alcohol, nicotine products (some states), to purchase a handgun from a licensed dealer and gamble in a casino. It is very odd that you can be 18, join the military, be issued a weapon, but you cannot have one for personal use. You can serve in the military and have a been while stationed in Germany, but not home in the US. It's odd.

Pondering that does not make one an idiot.

Missing from your list is driving. Why not allow casinos at 16, since that’s when you can get a license.

Anyway, Different ages for different activities make sense. Basically, at 18 you can do everything required to live as an adult, but the 21+ things are generally considered vices that no one needs, so no real incentive to give people the right to do it as soon as possible.


Then why does the US govt consider 18 a "legal adult"?
Anonymous
Post 02/18/2026 18:28     Subject: jury duty for college student
Our son was called for jury duty his sophomore year at an out of state college. We sent in his transcript (or maybe a bill - it was 4 years ago), and he was excused.
Anonymous
Post 02/18/2026 17:44     Subject: Re:jury duty for college student
The month I turned 21 I was called up for jury duty -- while I was in college, on study abroad in the Soviet Union (and fairly unreachable). My dad went to the courthouse and filled out some paperwork on my behalf. I think he had copies of my program acceptance, plane tickets, etc.
Anonymous
Post 02/18/2026 14:18     Subject: jury duty for college student
Anonymous wrote:My son just received a summons for Jury duty, he is a junior in an out of state college, he is not even 21 (he is not legal to drink, but can determine someone's fate). Obviously, he can't do it, just thought it was so weird. Did this happen to anyone else?



Yes, received the notice in Jan. for our college student. At least in MoCo, there is a one-time reschedule that you can do online with the summons and select a new date. Good luck.

Anonymous
Post 02/18/2026 13:41     Subject: jury duty for college student
Is it college week with jury summons? My college aged daughter received her summons too!

She actually wants to do it so requested a date change for a date this summer when she'll be home.
Anonymous
Post 02/18/2026 11:53     Subject: jury duty for college student
It’s not weird. It happens all the time. That’s why there is a process for a college kid to get excused.
Anonymous
Post 02/17/2026 17:28     Subject: jury duty for college student
18 = eligible to serve on a jury. Nothing weird about it.
Anonymous
Post 02/17/2026 16:58     Subject: jury duty for college student
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:What I think is odd is that at 18 you can die for your country but not drink a beer. If you can vote, you should be able to be on a jury.


This is such a stupid trope. Only low IQ people think this way.

What does one have to do with the other? At 18 you can die for your country but you cant do a LOT of things. What's so special about ... beer?

Idiot.


18 is a legal adult in the United States, which means, you can make adult decisions and be held accountable as an adult. You can vote, join the military, enter into binding agreements, such as apartment leases or purchasing a vehicle, marry without parental consent, legally change your name, Apply for credit cards and loans in your own name. However you must be 21 purchase alcohol, nicotine products (some states), to purchase a handgun from a licensed dealer and gamble in a casino. It is very odd that you can be 18, join the military, be issued a weapon, but you cannot have one for personal use. You can serve in the military and have a been while stationed in Germany, but not home in the US. It's odd.

Pondering that does not make one an idiot.

Missing from your list is driving. Why not allow casinos at 16, since that’s when you can get a license.

Anyway, Different ages for different activities make sense. Basically, at 18 you can do everything required to live as an adult, but the 21+ things are generally considered vices that no one needs, so no real incentive to give people the right to do it as soon as possible.