FAQ's of Jury Duty

You are not required to be at the Courts every day for your week of service.  You will be required to attend on Monday if the trial is not cancelled.  You will know on the Friday before, or earlier, of each scheduled trial date if you are required to appear.  The recorded message will explain which juror numbers and at which Court and time you are to appear.  You may also verify your requirement for service at our website, www.barrycounty.org, select County Clerk and then Jury Duty Calendar.

You must submit with your request, proof of you new residence.  A copy of your driver’s license is an acceptable form of proof.  The jury lists are derived from the Secretary of State driver’s license and state identification lists.

You must submit with your request proof of your current student schedule that proves that you are unable to perform your term of service.

If there is a grave illness in your family, or an equally serious problem that would constitute an undue hardship or extreme inconvenience for you to appear in court on the dates specified, you must notify the jury coordinator in writing as soon as possible.

If you have an appointment or vacation scheduled, please submit the dates to the jury coordinator as soon as possible to allow ample time for your request to be processed.  DO NOT WAIT UNTIL A FEW DAYS BEFORE YOUR PANEL IS CALLED.  Please send supporting documentation of your vacation or scheduled appointment with your written request.  Examples include airline ticket vouchers, hotel/campground reservations or appointment cards.  If these items are not received, a letter will be sent to you requesting this documentation and your request will not be processed until further documentation is received.

The judges try to seat their juries in the morning, therefore, if you are not seated on a case you are normally released by 10:00 a.m.  If you are a juror on a particular trial, you should plan on being at the courthouse until about 5:00 p.m.  Most trials last one or two days.  Occasionally a case will last longer.  You will be informed of the length of the trial before you are seated on the jury.

You will be paid $12.50 plus mileage at the rate of $.25 a mile for the first half day of service.  Full day service is $25.00 plus round trip mileage for the first day.  Subsequent days of service are paid at the rate of $20.00 per half day or $40.00 per full day along with round trip mileage.  You will be compensated by check, which will be mailed to you, within 30 days from the date of your appearance.

You do not have to report for your date of service.  This means you have fulfilled your requirement for jury service. You are only required to call in Monday; trials will not be scheduled to start on Tuesday through Friday.