JURY SERVICES

NOTICE: Jury duty has benn cancelled today, Friday, May 10, 2024 due to weather.

Jury Scam Alert Click here for more information.

Leon County jurors are encouraged to register online to perform several common tasks. Jurors can update contact information, request postponements or excusals and confirm service using our eResponse system. By providing a valid email or mobile phone number, you will receive immediate notification regarding your service. This includes reporting requirements or cancellations.

Juror Electronic Response System

Juror Reporting Instructions

If you did not register your information on eResponse, you must call to confirm your service.

After 5:10 P.M. on the evening before you are scheduled to report, check the status of your Candidate ID on the main jury page of the court's website or call (850) 583-9678, select option 1 for instructions. If you have a 12:45 pm reporting time, check after 10am on the reporting date.

If your Pool Order number is confirmed, you are ordered to report as instructed in your confirmation email or text and as noted on the jury messaging phone line

Summoned jurors who have health concerns related to COVID-19 may be allowed to be postponed. If you are sick with respiratory symptoms, a fever, or a cough, DO NOT REPORT. Email the Jury Services office at Clerk_Jury@leoncountyfl.gov and include the reason for the request or any documents you wish to provide the court. You may also call (850) 606-4007 or click here to request that your jury service be deferred to a future date.

TIPS FOR SUMMONED JURORS

• Pre-registration using the eResponse system prior to reporting may allow for a pre-selection empanelment that will create additional social distancing opportunities and allows you to "skip the line."
• Make sure to completely fill out the information on your check-in form to expedite the check-in process.
• You may consider bringing a personal container of hand sanitizer as an additional precautionary measure.
• Consider bringing any medication you might need.
• You should arrange for family matters before you report for jury service; there is no guarantee as to what time you may be released.
• To protect the integrity of the jury process, we hope you will understand that we cannot allow newspapers in the Jury Assembly Room. If you are selected to serve on a trial, all electronic devices will also be removed before jury deliberations begin. The judge may also remove them at other stages of a trial. At the beginning of the trial, the judge should advise the jury panel about the removal of electronic devices.

Click here for an informative video about jury service in Florida.
Click here for the Florida Bar "Handbook for Jurors".

Juror Electronic Response System

You have just received a summons to report for jury duty and for some reason you cannot comply.

The court realizes that jury service may impose a hardship on citizens and although the expectation is that all citizens will serve when required, the court has provisions in place for both temporary and permanent excusals.

Before being transferred to the e-response excusal page we ask you to please read the following instructions to assure that the information requested can be filled in correctly.

If you need assistance, contact the Jury Coordinator's Office at (850) 606-4007, or via e-mail at Clerk_Jury@leoncountyfl.gov.

Jury Summons

You probably have questions regarding jury service. The court realizes that jury service may impose a hardship on citizens. However, the right to trial by jury is one of the principles guaranteed by the Constitution, and it is the duty of every citizen to serve when called. Every effort is made to assure that each juror has a positive experience.

Juror names are provided from a list of names supplied quarterly by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Our jury database then randomly selects the names when prompted by the creation of a new jury pool.

If you have a significant scheduling conflict (i.e., prepaid vacation, business trip, etc.) you may take advantage of a one-time courtesy rescheduling utilizing eResponse

To help you find answers to many of your common questions, we have provided the following topics:

Mandatory Disqualified Exemptions

• You must be excused from service if you are:
• Younger than 18 years old
• Not a citizen of the United States
• Currently serving as governor, lieutenant governor, cabinet officer, clerk of the court or judge
• Someone who has been convicted of a felony and have not had your civil rights restored. NOTE: Restoration of voting rights under Art. VI, § 4, Fla. Const., is NOT the same as restoration of all civil rights, including jury service. If you question whether your right to serve on a jury has been restored following a felony conviction, please contact the Office of Executive Clemency
• Currently under prosecution for a crime
• Someone who has served as a juror in Leon County within the last 12 months
• No longer a resident of Leon County
• Not a citizen of the United States

Excusals

You can be excused for one of the optional reasons only if you ask to be excused. Under the penalty of perjury, you may request to be excused from jury service if you are:

• An expectant mother
• 70 years old or older, you may be permanently excused if you wish.
• A parent not employed full time with a child under six years old
• The sole unpaid caregiver of a person who is incapacitated mentally or physically
• A full-time federal, state, or local law enforcement officer or investigator employed by a law enforcement agency

Examination of Jurors or "Voir dire"

Once prospective jurors are impaneled in a case, the judge and the lawyers will ask about their backgrounds. These questions are not intended to embarrass jurors. They are designed to help lawyers decide which jurors to select.

Jurors may sometimes feel that they cannot be impartial in a certain case. If this is true for you, be sure to bring it to the attention of the judge, even if the questions you were asked did not address the issue. If you are excused from a jury, you should not take it personally. When jurors are excused, it means only that there are proper and lawful reasons for the excusal.

Types of Trials

Cases that come before a trial jury, or Petit Jury, are divided into two general classes: civil and criminal.

In a civil trial, parties in a dispute come to court to have a jury determine their respective rights. One party usually seeks relief or compensation for a loss or injury that they claim was caused by the actions of the opposing party. The party that files the lawsuit or brings an action against another is called the Plaintiff. The person against whom the action is brought is the Defendant.

In a criminal trial, on the other hand, the party that brings the actions against others is the State of Florida, represented by a prosecutor from the State Attorney's Office. The Defendant is the person accused of violating the law.

Length of Service

The first day of service is normally limited to jury selection for trials that will be held during that week. Jurors selected to serve on a case will be asked to return and serve on the dates of that trial.

Compensation for Jury Duty

Florida law determines juror compensation. If a person continues to receive regular wages while serving as a juror, the state will not compensate that person for the first three days of jury service. You are entitled to a $15 per day payment (flat rate with no separate amount for mileage) from the state if you are:

• Regularly employed and not receiving wages while you're on jury duty
• Not Employed
• Self Employed
• Retired

Any juror who serves beyond three days will receive $30 per day for the fourth day and any additional days, whether they are receiving wages from an employer or not. Approximately 10 days after completion of your jury service, a check will be mailed to you.

You also have the option to donate your juror payment to Refuge House; the mission of Refuge House is to provide direct services to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, and to their children and families, as well as to eliminate such violence through community education and public advocacy. You may also donate to The Second Judicial Circuit Guardian Ad Litem Program; this program is part of a statewide coalition of community advocates and professional staff providing a powerful voice on behalf of Florida's abused and neglected children.

What to wear?

When you report or serve for jury service, we ask you to please dress appropriately. Casual clothes are not suitable for jury service. Jurors should wear business or business-casual attire. You also may want to bring a light jacket or sweater, as courtrooms are often cool. Military or other uniforms are also appropriate attire for both men and women. Beach attire, shorts, flip flops and tank tops are inappropriate attire for jury service.

Courthouse Security and Prohibited Items

For the safety of everyone, there are security screenings at the entrance of the courthouse. When entering the courthouse, you will be required to go through security screening. Please keep the following in mind.

• Everything you bring into the courthouse must be put in a tray and screened, including cell phones, laptops, books, magazines, etc.
• You will walk through a metal detector. If it beeps, security personnel will use a wand to determine the cause of the beep.

Do not bring weapons, glass or items that may be construed as weapons. Items prohibited in the courthouse include, but are not limited to:

• Glass containers (glass water bottles, glass beverage bottles, glass perfume bottles, glass food containers, etc.)
• Guns (stun, real, toy, lighter, etc.)
• Blades (pocketknives or any other knives, razors, scissors, shears, hair picks, pins, corkscrews, box cutters, scrapers, can openers, etc.)
• Chemicals (mace, pepper spray, hair spray, large perfume bottles, anything flammable, etc.)
• Impact weapons (knuckles, clubs, hammers, etc.)
• Restraining devices (straps, chains, handcuffs/keys)
• Syringes/needles (except for medical use only)
• Other potential weapons (files, knitting needles, nail clippers, letter openers, nail files, tweezers, silverware, night sticks/batons, flashlights longer than 3 inches, screwdrivers, hammers, pliers and other tools).
• Miscellaneous (alcoholic beverage/containers, arm/leg spike bands, brass knuckles, medical instruments, locks, pipes/metal rods)

Please note that electronic devices are permitted in the courthouse. In order to preserve the integrity of the judicial process, jurors cannot have their electronic devices during their service in the courtroom while court is in session. Please be assured that your electronic devices will be secured by courtroom staff.

Wireless Internet

For your convenience, free wireless broadband Internet access is available to jurors.

Dining

A cafeteria/snack bar is located on the second floor of the courthouse. Vending machines are available throughout the courthouse, so you may want to remember to bring cash. Also, there are several restaurants within easy walking distance of the courthouse. You are welcome to bring your own lunch or snacks, but we do not have refrigeration available.

THANK YOU for your willingness to serve as a juror, and to help the Court continue to provide this vital function of our democracy during these challenging times.