Jury Service Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
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If you cannot appear on your scheduled appearance date, you may reschedule to another date within the following 6 months. You will be offered a selection of dates to choose from. The request must be made before your scheduled appearance date. Click here to change your date.
Please note: the system will allow you to reschedule a maximum of one time.
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Not necessarily. Click here to reschedule your appearance date.
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You may appear in Jury Services for “drop in” jury duty any weekday at 9:00 a.m. prior to your scheduled appearance date and be prepared to spend the entire day serving jury duty.
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If you have already rescheduled your jury duty once, the system will not allow you to reschedule again. You may appear in Jury Services for “drop in” jury duty any weekday at 9:00 a.m. prior to your scheduled appearance date and be prepared to spend the entire day serving jury duty.
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California law says you are qualified to be a juror if you:
- Are a U.S. citizen
- Are at least 18 years old
- Can understand English enough to understand and discuss the case
- Are a resident of the county summoning you
- Have not served on a jury in the last 12 months
- Are not currently serving on a jury
- Are not currently under a conservatorship
- Are not currently incarcerated in any prison or jail
- Are not currently on parole, postrelease community supervision for conviction of a felony
- Are not required to register as a sex offender based on a felony conviction
- Have had your civil rights restored if you were convicted of a malfeasance or felony
No one is exempt because of his or her job, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, or economic status. If you are qualified you must contact Jury Services after 5:00 p.m. the day before your service to confirm that you are needed for the date on your summons.
If you do not meet the above qualifications, click here to be directed to the online system, or you may check the appropriate box on your jury summons, sign and date it, and return to Jury Services. NO CONFIRMATION WILL BE SENT TO YOU OF YOUR DISQUALIFICATION.
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You do not need to speak perfect English to serve as a juror. The work done by the courts affects all people, so it is important that all communities be a part of our justice system, however if you cannot understand English, Click here to disqualify yourself from jury duty.
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Yes. You must obtain the form entitled Form JUR001 - “Request for Medical Excuse from Jury Duty” and have it completed by a physician. Click here to request a medical excuse. The system will reschedule your appearance date 90 days in the future to allow your physician time to complete the form and return it to Jury Services prior to your scheduled appearance date. You will receive notice of the Court’s decision by mail.
To review the "Request For Medical Excuse From Jury Duty" form, click here.
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Yes. To be excused for being a student, click here.
If you are a parent or other family member of someone away at school, you may request an excuse for them. Either click here to use the website, or complete their jury summons and mail it to the court. You may sign your own name on the signature line and make a notation of your relationship to the student.
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Yes. If you are active-duty military, you will be excused. State this on your jury summons, sign and date it, and return to Jury Services.
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Yes, you must serve.
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Click here to disqualify yourself for not being a resident of Marin County.
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If you served in another court within the last two years, you may be excused from serving again for one year. You must complete and return your jury summons, noting the date and court in which you served.
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If you forgot to appear, click here to enter your juror ID and PIN located on your summons. The system will either advise you that you must reschedule, or that you were not needed for jury duty.
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If you fail to appear for jury service as required, you will be sent a notice advising you to call and reschedule. If you disregard this notice, you may be placed in "Delinquent" status and receive an order to appear before a judicial officer to explain why you did not perform jury duty. You may also be subject to a fine or incarceration, as provided by California Code of Civil Procedures section 209.
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If you received a notice stating that you failed to appear for jury duty, you must reschedule your appearance. To reschedule now, click here. Otherwise, you may appear in Jury Services for “drop in” jury duty at 9:00 a.m. the Monday following receipt of this notice and be prepared to spend the entire day serving jury duty.
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Free parking is available in the parking lot east of the Civic Center and south of the lagoon on Armory Drive. Do not park in a reserved or two-hour parking area or your vehicle will be ticketed. Please click here for parking information and to get driving directions. The Marin Civic Center is served by Golden Gate Transit buses. For information on bus schedules, please visit their website at http://goldengatetransit.org.
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The Court receives data from the Department of Motor Vehicles, Marin County Registrar of Voters, and the list of resident state tax filers from the Franchise Tax Board.
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All potential jurors are selected randomly from a master list. This list is created by a combination of names from the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Marin County Registrar of Voters' systems, and the list of resident state tax filers from the Franchise Tax Board. Once the Court receives these sources' lists, they are loaded into the jury system. The entire juror selection process is then performed through an automated, randomization system. Individual jurors' names are not hand-selected by the Court. Because of the random nature of the selection process, you may be summoned every year, not for many years, or never.
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Yes. If you have a disability, you may click here to obtain “Request for Accommodations by Persons with Disabilities” to enable the Court to accommodate you. Or, you can obtain the form entitled “Medical Excuse From Jury Duty” and have it completed by a doctor. Click here to request a medical excuse and get the form. The system will reschedule your appearance date 90 days in the future to allow your doctor time to complete the form and return it to Jury Services prior to your scheduled appearance date. You will receive notice of the Court’s decision by mail.
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The Court provides a free Internet access point or "hot spot" for the benefit of their Jurors during normal business hours who have portable computers capable of receiving wireless signals. This access point will allow jurors to access the Internet from their laptop computers and other wireless devices when sitting within range of the access point at the Court Facilities. However, the Court does not provide technical support for this Wi-Fi system.
Please review the Wi-Fi Terms and Conditions prior to performing jury service.
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Yes. Shorts and tank tops are not permitted in the courtroom. If you appear wearing these items you will be advised to come back another time.
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If you take public transportation which would result in a travel time of over 1.5 hours each way, or you reside in an area not supported by public transit, you may be excused by completing your summons and returning it to Jury Services.
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Often, last minute conferences between the parties take place right before the trial begins. Sometimes these conferences result in last minute settlement of the cases. The judicial officers and court staff work hard to eliminate any unnecessary delays, but sometimes they do occur. You are encouraged to bring a book or other reading material to occupy your time while waiting. The Jury Services area is also equipped with wireless internet capability, so you may bring a laptop to help you pass the time.
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Trials may last one day to several weeks, but most trials end in less than a week. When you go to the courtroom, the judicial officer will advise you how long the trial is likely to take. You will have a chance to advise the judicial officer at that time if the trial length will be a hardship for you.
A typical Court day is from approximately 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
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You may be summoned every year, unless you actually reported to the courthouse in response to a jury summons; in this case you will not be called for two years. Occasionally, you may receive a second summons prior to that time. Since the Court creates its master jury lists from lists provided by the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Marin County Registrar of Voters, and the Franchise Tax Board, if your name is not identical in those systems, the Court may have your name in its system more than once. If you receive a summons earlier than expected, notify Jury Services so we may correct the error and update our records.
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The Court observes the one-day, one-trial system for jury service. This means that if you are not called in on your selected date or continued to a new date, you have fulfilled your service requirements for one year. If you are required to appear at the courthouse in response to a jury summons and are not selected to serve on a sworn jury panel, you have fulfilled your service requirement for two years. Please note that if you are required to appear on your summoned date, you must plan to be at the courthouse for the entire day.
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In accordance with California Code of Civil Procedures section 215, jurors are paid $15.00 a day, commencing on the second day of service, plus mileage compensation of $.34 cents per mile, one way. The Court calculates jurors' mileage based on residence zip code.
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Please recall that jurors do not receive pay for their first day of jury duty. If you served more than one day and we have not yet paid you for your jury duty, please allow 20 business days for your payment to be processed. If after that time you have not received payment, you may email Jury Services or call us during telephone customer service hours of 1-3 p.m.
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Labor Code section 230 states that no employer shall discharge or in any manner discriminate against an employee for taking time off as required by law for jury service if such employee, prior to taking such time off, gives reasonable notice to the employer that he or she is required to serve. The Court advises qualified jurors to notify their employers upon receipt of a summons.
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Yes, you will be required to go through screening if you are sent to a courtroom. Please carefully review the list of personal items that are not permitted in the courtrooms. If you try to bring any of these items with you to the courtroom, they will be confiscated by security screening personnel and will not be returned to you. Please click here for more information about court security.
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No. Children are not allowed in the courtroom. The Court does not have child care facilities. Please do not bring your children to jury duty.
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If you are scheduled for a Monday, you may use the automated systems any time after Friday at 5 p.m.
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Call this number immediately: (415) 444-7260.
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Call (415) 444-7122 and when prompted, leave your name, Juror ID and phone number. If you don’t have your Juror ID, leave your California Drivers’ License number. Jury staff will return your call as soon as possible.
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You may request proof of attendance by emailing Jury Services at jury@marin.courts.ca.gov. Please include your entire name and California Drivers’ License number.
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You may request a replacement summons by emailing Jury Services at jury@marin.courts.ca.gov. . Please include your entire name and California Drivers’ License number.