S/O - what is the jury duty process in your area?

We get a letter in the mail, usually about a month before the date we are chosen for. It can be for either municipal, district or federal court here. If you qualify for an exemption, you can fill out the back of the form and send it back (or do it online). If you need a deferment, you can now go online to do that as well. In the cases where DH was working out of the country, I would just call them and let them know and they would excuse him.

We show up the day of jury duty and if you are not needed, they are pretty good about dismissing you before lunchtime. I've only been put on a panel once and then wasn't chosen. The pay for municipal and district is $6.00/day. If you are at District, that will cover the reduced parking garage fee. For municipal, the rate is $10/day to park in the close lot, or you can park for free and walk 3 blocks. Your jury summons will also serve as a pass for a free ride to court on the Metro bus the day of duty.

I'm on jury duty right now. You get a letter about a month before telling you when to check the website or call in. You are assigned a jury number and that number is listed on the website as either show up, call back, or you're excused. Mine started Monday and I had to check back Monday after 5 pm and Tuesday after 5 pm. Weds (today) I was instructed to report. Then once you report you sit in a jury room until your name is called for a case. If you never get called you go home at the end of the day, and your service is over. If your name is called you are in that court until a jury is chosen. In addition to serving 6 weeks on a criminal trial, I have had to report to a court for three days while the jury was picked. Most often I'm finished after one day.

You receive your summons about 5 weeks prior to the day you are expected to report for duty. You have to go online to complete a questionnaire or apply for an excuse...there is a list of automatic excuses, then a list of "possible" excuses. Assuming you are not excused,you have call in or check online after 5:oopm the night prior to the date you are to report to see if your number needs to report or not.

Our county has clear instructions on the summons about where to park and you need to bring in the parking card and they will voucher your parking fee in addition to paying you $15 per day IF your company does NOT reimburse you. You will receive the check approximately, 2 weeks after you have been dismissed from service.

There is a rather large room with several areas smaller areas to sit and wait, such as an area of tables and chairs, another area with comfy chairs and side tables/coffee table, there is an area that has desks/outlets for people that bring their laptops or ipads to plug in...there is also a room with free computers for people to just play on the internet (of course it's monitored), then there is a section with just rows of chairs like some airports have. There are quite a bit of magazines and books available it you didn't bring anything. There is also a vendor from a charity that sets up a small area that offers pastry, muffins, Danish, coffee, water, soft drinks, etc...for purchase after the instructions have been given at around 9:00am explaining what you are allowed and not allowed to do/go, etc.

After the instructions are given you just sit and wait for them to start calling up jurors by their number...sometimes they will call up the 20/30 people at a time, you are then instructed to follow a bailiff up the a courtroom where the voir dire process begins.  If you are not selected or not needed you can be excused for the day...it all depends on what's on the docket I suppose.  I've seen/heard some people get excused for the day and they have fulfilled their obligation and some have had to go back to the jury waiting room only to wait all day and get excused at 5:00pm.

Personally, if I've made the effort to drive downtown, than I want to be able to serve on a trial or at least go through the voir dire process...it makes the day much more interesting and go by faster.  Sitting in a cold room with a bunch of strangers all day is very boring.

That being said, they really do try and make the experience as painful as possible.

We don't turn in our form until we are called back for jury selection.  I have been called both times.  Both times I was called back it took several hours to pick the jury.  While it is a really interesting process, I would not get a complex.  My boss, a psychologist, says he never gets picked either.  

• We receive our jury notice in the mail with the date to report.
  
• You complete a few questions on the notice and mail it back in (it is prepaid postage)
• The night before you are to report, you call a phone number. They will tell you which Group numbers are to report and which do not have to report
• If you are in the group that does not have to report, you are done and won't be selected again for at least 2 more years.
• If you are in the group that does report, you go the next day.
• You check in and wait to see if you will be called to a courtroom - it could be 5 minutes after arriving, it could be at 4:45pm, you just wait
• If you get called into a courtroom, you get questioned and perhaps selected for a jury. If not select, you will either be told to leave (duty is over for at least 2 years) or you will be told to return to the waiting room and could be selected for another case.
• If you do not get called into a courtroom or you are returned to the waiting room and not called by the end of the day, your service is over and you won't be called again for at least 2 years

Rule is 1 day or 1 trial so if you aren't selected for jury duty on the first day, you are done - it is their rule that you will not be called again for at least 2 years, regardless if you served on a case or not.

They select jurors by driving licenses, voter registration and property tax payments. You are paid $15 for the first day of service and $25 for each additional day.