Kerry excused from jury duty to vote

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BOSTON, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- People are always looking for excuses to avoid jury duty but only a few would be able to use U.S. Sen. John Kerry's: He had to get back to Washington to vote.

Kerry, D-Mass., said outside Dorchester District Court Monday he was excused from jury duty so he could return to Washington for a 5 p.m. vote on issues related to the fiscal cliff, the Boston Herald reported Tuesday.

The senator suggested Congress could work through the holidays to resolve the issue.

"We have to do whatever's necessary to get the job done," Kerry said. "That's one of the reasons why I'm going back there. We have a lot of meetings, and we're working very hard to get it done. And we need to get it done."