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Phone: (415) 473-6063
Email: jury@marincourt.org
Location: Civic Center, Hall of Justice, Room 244
Office Hours: 8:30am - 4:00pm
Am I qualified to serve as a juror?
How do I change my summons date?
How long will I be required to serve?
The website/phone system says my status is “Serving” – what does that mean?
What should I wear to court?
May I be excused from serving due to financial hardship?
May I be excused from serving due to a medical condition?
May I be excused from serving if I am caring for a sick or aged family member?
May I be excused from serving due to my age?
What will happen if I disregard my jury summons?
How often may I be called to serve?
How long does a trial take?
Can I lose my job appearing for jury duty?
How much do I get paid?
Why do I sometimes have to wait at the courthouse all day as a prospective juror?
Why do I seem to get summoned more often than other people I know?
How do I get to the courthouse and where do I park?
Will I have to go through court security screening to perform jury service?
Does the Court make accommodations for persons with disabilities?
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Am I qualified to serve as a juror?
You may be required to serve as a juror if you meet all of the following qualifications:
- Can read and understand English;
- Are a citizen of the United States;
- Are a resident of Marin County;
- Are 18 years old or older;
- Are not serving as a Grand Juror or trial juror in another jurisdiction;
- Have had your civil rights restored, after conviction of a felony;
- Are not under a conservatorship;
If you are qualified: You must contact Jury Services 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: complete the "Request For Disqualification or Excuse"
section of your jury summons. Mail your summons immediately to the address on the other side of the summons, or
use this website to request excusal or disqualification. You must appear unless you receive notice from Jury
Services advising you that your request to be excused has been granted.
Please Note: You may only be excused one time for inability to read or understand English. All subsequent
excusals for English language difficulty must be given by a judicial officer when you appear for jury service.
How do I change my summons date?
If you cannot appear on your summons date, you may reschedule the date within 90 days of your original summons
date. You may choose any weekday (except holidays) to appear for jury service. The request must be made no later
than two days prior to your scheduled date. Please have in mind a specific date you wish to appear before telephoning
or changing your service date on-line. The telephone number is (415) 473-6063.
Click here for the On-line System for Jurors.
How long will I be required to serve?
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.
The website/phone system says my status is “Serving” – what does that mean?
If your status is “Serving”, it means either:
- You are currently serving on a trial, or
- You appeared for jury service and due to scheduling conflicts were given a new appearance date by the Judge, or
- You appeared for jury service and did not fulfill your obligation.
What should I wear to court?
When reporting for jury service, appropriate courtroom attire is required. Shorts, tank tops and bare midriffs are
examples of inappropriate attire. If you wear any of the above items or other inappropriate attire, you will be
excused for the day and scheduled to report for jury service the next day.
May I be excused from serving due to a financial or job hardship?
Staff in Jury Services does not have the authority to excuse a juror for financial or business hardship reasons. Any
request to be excused due to loss of income or business closure must be directed to the judicial officer presiding
over the trial. The hardship determination will only be made after you have appeared as summoned.
May I be excused from serving due to a medical condition?
Your service may be postponed for up to six months by calling Jury Services and asking to reschedule your appearance.
Any request for a longer excusal must be accompanied by a form entitled
Medical Exemption Request for an Excuse from Jury Duty and completed in full by a physician. Upon completion
of the form, you or your physician must return it by mail or Fax as indicated below, at least five days prior to your
scheduled reporting date.
ADDRESS:
Office of Jury Services
P.O. Box 4990
San Rafael, Ca. 94913-4990
(415) 473-6063
FAX: (415) 444-7121
After downloading the form, please reschedule your service date 90 days in the future to allow your physician
time to complete the form and return it to Jury Services.
May I be excused from serving if I am caring for a sick or aged family member?
In order to receive a care provider exemption, you must not currently be employed in addition to caring for another person.
Your service may be postponed for up to six months by contacting Jury Services to request that your service be rescheduled.
A request for a one-year excusal must be accompanied by a form entitled Care Provider Excuse from
Jury Duty and completed in full by a physician. Upon completion of the form, you or your physician must return it by
mail or Fax, as indicated above, at least five days prior to your scheduled reporting date.
After downloading the form, please reschedule your service date 90 days in the future to allow your physician
time to complete the form and fax or mail it back to Jury Services.
May I be excused from serving due to my age?
Jurors are not automatically eligible for an age exemption from jury service. However, jurors over 70 years of age who
are incapable of serving due to a medical condition may be excused by advising the Court of this in the section entitled
"Other" on the "Request for Disqualification or Excuse" portion of their summons.
What will happen if I disregard my jury summons?
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 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.
How often may I be called to serve?
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 and Marin County Registrar or Voters,
if your name is not identical in those two 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.
How long does a trial take?
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.
Can I lose my job by appearing for jury duty?
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.
How much do I get paid?
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 $.034 cents per mile, one way. The Court calculates jurors' mileage based on
residence zip code.
Why do I sometimes have to wait at the courthouse all day as a prospective juror?
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.
Why do I seem to get summoned more often than other people I know?
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 and the Marin County Registrar of Voters' systems. Once the Court receives these sources lists,
they are loaded into the jury system. Then, the entire juror selection process is 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.
How do I get to the courthouse and where do I park?
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. Refer to the map on the back of your summons or
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.
Will I have to go through court security screening to perform jury service?
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.
Does the court make accommodations for persons with disabilities?
To ensure that individuals with disabilities can fully participate in jury service, the Court makes accommodations for
persons with disabilities. For more information and to obtain a form to request an accommodation, please
click here.
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Overview of Jury Services:
A trial by a jury of one's peers is among the fundamental democratic ideals of our nation. It is the duty and
responsibility of all qualified citizens to participate as jurors.
In order for the justice process to be fair, equal and accessible to all, judicial officers and jurors must
consider the cases before them in a way that is thoughtful, involves sound judgment, is impartial and fair, and
demonstrates integrity.
In each trial, the judicial officer determines the rules of law that govern the case. For example, the judicial
officer decides what evidence may be presented and admitted during the trial. After listening carefully and
considering all of the testimony and evidence presented, jurors receive instructions from the judicial officer
as to the laws that apply to the case. At this time, the responsibility switches to the jurors and they decide
which facts in the case are most credible and then apply the law as instructed by the judicial officer in order
to reach a verdict.
"A very pleasant experience. Glad to see our justice system at work."
Former Juror Jennifer W.
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