Please refer to your Participant Number , which you can find on the first page of your summons. Check back after am on the morning of your scheduled date for final instructions.
If your trial is rescheduled, you will hear the NEW date and location you must show up at court. Call back or check the website for updated instructions after pm on the business day before your NEW date. Jury Information Line : Refer to your summons. Website : www.
If you sent in a request to be excused and your request was denied, you will hear the date you must show up at court. You may ask the court to postpone defer your jury service by writing or calling the court and providing an explanation of your situation. The court may or may not defer your jury service if you have a scheduling conflict or for other legitimate reasons, but you are only allowed one deferral each time you are summoned. If any of these exemptions apply, you may claim the exemption when you receive the Juror Questionnaire.
These exemptions are optional, so if you do not claim it, you may receive a Juror Summons to serve on a jury. Anyone else who wishes to be excused from jury duty must make a request to the court in writing. You may ask to be excused from jury duty because of a serious personal hardship.
For example, you may be excused if you have caregiving responsibilities and there is no one who can take your place. You may also ask to be excused because of a disability or medical condition. Written requests for excusal from jury duty must be mailed to the court listed on the summons and postmarked at least two 2 weeks prior to your appearance date. Also include reasons why you are asking to be excused and supporting documents i.
The request must be signed by the summoned juror. If you do not receive a response, your request has not been granted and you are expected to appear in court as summoned. Yes, breast-feeding mothers should call their Jury Pool Office for instructions on how to be excused from jury service.
Should breast-feeding mothers wish to serve, an accommodation will be made for expressing milk click here for contact information. If you do not fully understand the English language, you must still appear in person on the date you are summoned and request to be excused by the court. A family member or friend who can speak English may accompany you to provide assistance. If you need special accommodations, such as sight interpreter, hearing amplification, or special seating, etc, please contact the Jury Staff click here for contact information at least ten 10 working days before your jury service date.
Please contact the Jury Staff and let them know what type of assistance you will need. If you cannot be reasonably accommodated, you may ask to be excused by providing copies of documents verifying your condition. If you receive a Juror Summons, you must show up at court on the date printed in the Summons.
You will join other people who have been summoned for jury duty. The court will randomly select names from the people in your group. If your name is called, you will be asked to sit in the jury box. The attorneys in the case, and sometimes the judge, will ask you questions.
When you have answered all of the questions, you will either be chosen to sit on the jury or be excused. This process usually takes one day, but may take longer in some cases. If you are chosen as a juror, you must serve for the entire trial and deliberations. Many trials last about 3 to 4 days. Exemption for Physical or Mental Impairments or Inability to Comprehend English A district court judge may permanently or temporarily exempt from jury service a person with a physical or mental impairment or with an inability to comprehend or communicate in the English language that makes it impossible or very difficult to serve on a jury.
Advice for your First Day of Service Be sure that you know where you are supposed to report. If you are unfamiliar with the courthouse and its surroundings you should carefully review the instructions that are included with summonses.
You might also contact the judge or the district clerk's office or check the local web page for additional information. Your attire should show respect for the court. Because you may serve on a jury the first day you report to serve, you should wear clothing reasonably befitting the dignity and solemnity of the court proceedings. Local judges may restrict certain attire, such as shorts, cutoff, sleeveless shirts, sandals, and hats.
Also, you should dress comfortably because you may be in the courthouse for the entire day. You might also bring a light sweater or jacket in case the temperature in the courthouse is somewhat cold. Take advantage of any free parking offered to prospective jurors. Also, you might want to avoid parking in metered parking spaces because you do not know how long you will be in jury service.
Bring money. Though the court or the county may provide parking or reimburse parking costs, you might have to pay them initially. Also, you may need money to pay for snacks, lunch, or pay phones. Because jury duty involves some waiting, bring something to read to help you pass the time.
Be aware that you will likely be asked to shut off pagers and cellular phones before entering the jury room or courtroom. Courthouse Security To ensure the safety of everyone at the courthouse, expect to be screened through a metal detector and X-ray unit.
The county may choose to provide additional forms of compensation or reimbursement, including: free public transportation mileage reimbursement; transportation cost reimbursement; free parking; child-care facilities; or free meals. Charitable Contributions Both you and other prospective jurors who report for jury service will be given an opportunity to voluntarily donate your juror pay to certain local or state charitable causes.
When you report for jury service, you should receive or request a form that allows you to direct the county treasurer to donate your reimbursement for jury service to a designated charity or fund which should include: the Texas Crime Victim's Compensation Fund your county's Child Welfare Board a designated local family violence shelter; or any other program s approved by the commissioners court.
Rights and Responsibilities of Your Employer Your employer is not required to pay you for any time that you missed from work due to jury service. Length of Duty The length of jury service will vary considerably for summoned jurors.
Delay Unfortunately, prospective jurors who appear and participate in the jury selection process will spend a great deal of time waiting. Rules of Juror Conduct in Civil Cases Supreme Court Rule of Civil Procedure a The judge will instruct you to adhere to the following basic rules: Do not mingle with nor talk to the lawyers, the witnesses, the parties, or any other person who might be connected with or interested in the case, except for casual greetings.
They will have the same instructions and you will understand it when they do. Do not accept from, nor give to, any of those persons any favors however slight, such as rides, food, or refreshments. Do not discuss anything about this case, or even mention it to anyone whomsoever, including your wife or husband nor permit anyone to mention it in your hearing until you are discharged as jurors or excused form this case.
If anyone attempts to discuss the case, report it to the judge at once. Do not even discuss this case among yourselves until after you have heard all of the evidence, the court's charge, the attorneys' arguments and until I have sent you to the jury room to consider your verdict. Do not make any investigation about the facts of this case.
Occasionally, we have a juror who privately seeks out information about a case on trial. This is improper. All evidence must be presented in open court so that each side may question the witnesses and make proper objection.
This avoids a trial based upon secret evidence. These rules apply to jurors the same as they apply to the parties and to me. If you know of, or learn anything about, this case except from the evidence admitted during the course of this trial, you should tell me about it at once.
You have just taken an oath that you will render a verdict on the evidence submitted to you under the judge's rulings. Do not make personal inspections, observations, investigations, or experiments nor personally view premises, things or articles not produced in court. Do not let anyone else do any of these things for you. Do not tell other jurors your own personal experiences nor those of other persons, nor relate any special information.
A juror may have special knowledge of matters such as business, technical or professional matters or he may have expert knowledge or opinions, or he may know what happened in this or some other lawsuit.
To tell the other jurors any of this information is a violation of these instructions. Do not discuss or consider attorney's fees unless evidence about attorney's fees is admitted. For example, you may have to wait before you are placed on a jury. During the trial, you may have to wait in the jury room while the judge and the lawyers settle questions of law.
Judges and other courtroom personnel will do everything they can to minimize the waiting both before and during the trial. Your understanding is appreciated. Dress comfortably. Suits, ties, and other, more formal wear are not necessary. Hats may not be allowed unless worn for religious or medical purposes.
The ideal item to bring with you is a book or a magazine, although sometimes the court will restrict newspapers or magazines containing information that may relate to an upcoming trial. Many courts will allow you to bring a laptop computer, but may not allow a pager or cell phone.
Because security is taken very seriously, you may find that everyday items like penknives, knitting needles, scissors, or metal nail files cannot be brought into the court facility. Check with your local court to confirm what you may bring with you.
Sometimes parties in a case settle their differences only moments before the trial is scheduled to begin. In such instances, you will be excused with the thanks of the court. As the trial cannot proceed until all jurors are present, it is important that you are on time.
If you are unavoidably delayed, please call the court immediately. Because your absence could delay a trial, it is important that you report each day you are required to. If a real emergency occurs — a sudden illness, accident, or death in the family — tell the court staff immediately.
But in extremely rare cases, you may be "sequestered" during the trial or during jury deliberations. This is done to assure that jurors don't hear or see something about the case that wasn't mentioned in court. Most court facilities have security measures in place. Please do not be offended if you are searched-remember that this is to ensure your safety.
In superior courts most trials last 3 or 4 days although, of course, there are exceptions. In district and municipal courts most trials last 1 or 2 days. Civil cases are disputes between private citizens, corporations, governments, government agencies, or other organizations. Usually, the party that brings the suit is asking for money damages for some alleged wrong that has been done.
For example, a homeowner may sue a contractor for failure to fix a leaky roof. People who have been injured may sue the person or company they feel is responsible for the injury. A criminal case is brought by the state, or a city or county, against one or more persons accused of committing a crime. In these cases, the state, city, or county is the plaintiff; the accused person is the defendant.
Events in a trial usually happen in a particular order, though the order may be changed by the judge. The standard order of events begins with the selection of the jury, followed by opening statements, presentation of evidence, jury instructions, closing arguments, jury deliberations, and an announcement of the verdict.
In the courtroom, your judge will tell you about the case, then introduce the lawyers and others who are involved in it. You will also take an oath, in which you will promise to answer all questions truthfully. After you're sworn in, the judge and the lawyers will question you and other members of the panel to find out if you have any knowledge about the case, any personal interest in it, or any feelings that might make it hard for you to be impartial.
This questioning process is called voir dire, which means "to speak the truth.
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