Jury Services FAQs

If you do not have sufficient knowledge of the English language, check letter “D” under section (1) DISQUALIFICATION on your summons.  Sign, date, and return it to the Jury Clerk.  If you need assistance, a friend or family member who has sufficient knowledge of the English language may assist you. 

The California Labor Code § 230 makes it unlawful for any employer to fire or harass an employee who is summoned to Court to serve as a juror.  If you are harassed or fired, contact the Jury Clerk or Judge assigned to your trial.  School employees and students are also protected in different parts of the law.

Currently, jurors are paid $15 per day starting with the second day of service, plus 34 cents per mile, one way from their home to the Courthouse for mileage (Code of Civil Procedure § 215).  Amounts are computed at the completion of service, and are mailed to you.  Checks should be received within two weeks after you complete service.  Contact the Jury Clerk if you have not received compensation or have questions.

California Law does not allow an excusal from jury duty because of lack of routine childcare.

A mother who is breastfeeding may request that jury service be deferred for up to one year, and may renew that request as long as she is breastfeeding (California Rules of Court, Rule 2.1006). 

You may request a deferral by checking the space in section (F) "REQUEST TO BE EXCUSED" on your jury summons.  Date, sign, and return it to the Jury Clerk.

If you have a personal obligation to provide actual and necessary care to another, including sick, aged or infirm dependents, or a child who requires personal care and attention and no comparable substitute care is either available or practical without imposing an undue economic hardship (California Rules of Court, Rule 2.1008(d)(7)), you may request an excusal by checking the space in section (2) (E) "REQUEST TO BE EXCUSED" on your summons.  Date, sign, and return the summons to the Jury Clerk along with providing the written verification requested on the summons.  (Verification from the family member’s physician listing age, relationship and reason care is necessary). This will excuse you from service for two years.

All persons chosen for jury service are selected at random from source lists provided by the Department of Motor Vehicles, Franchise Tax Board, as well as the list of registered voters residing in the county who are 18 years of age or older, pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure § 197.

If in the past 12 months you have already served, contact the Jury Clerk by phone or on the summons check box “F” under section (1) DISQUALIFICATION.  Fill in the necessary information, then date, sign and return it to the Jury Clerk.  If you have been called again, but it has been more than 12 months, your name has been randomly selected again.  Please read the summons carefully and follow the directions.  Call the Jury Clerk if you have specific questions.

If you need special accommodations (such as assistance with a wheelchair, hearing amplification, special seating), contact the Jury Clerk right away and let her know what type of assistance you will need.  The Jury Clerk will provide you with an ADA request form to be completed and returned so that reasonable accommodations may be met.  If she cannot reasonably accommodate you, you may be excused from jury service.  

The length of trials vary depending on how complex the issues are and how long jurors spend in deliberations.  Most trials are completed within one day, and very few last more than one week.  The Judge knows about how long the trial will take, and he or she will tell you the time frame when your group is called for jury selection.  Judges know how difficult long trials can be.  Let the Judge know whether it is a serious hardship for you to sit on a long trial.  Be patient during this process because a lot of people have similar time concerns.

The Judge and Court staff work hard to reduce the time you spend waiting as a juror.  However, waiting time cannot be completely eliminated.  A trial is very important to the people involved.  The law is also complex and many steps have to happen before, during, and after the trial.  Try to be patient and come prepared with a book or other reading material to occupy your time while waiting.  Court staff will try to explain delays when possible.  Be assured everyone is working to avoid delays.

There are two types of jury trials:  criminal and civil.  Juvenile and family law trials are not heard as jury trials.

It depends.  Judges decide whether jurors can take notes or ask questions during a trial.  A juror may ask the Judge about this at the beginning of the trial, but the final decision rests with the Judge.  If permission to ask questions is granted, the questions will be given to the Judge in written form.  Jurors should pass these written questions to the bailiff so that the questions remain anonymous.  It is important that jurors stay connected to the proceedings, and both note taking and question asking can assist jurors in processing the evidence presented.

The Judge will take your privacy into consideration when making decisions about the case.  The Judge must balance the requirement in the federal Constitution that guarantees people a public and speedy trial on the one side, against jurors’ real concerns about privacy on the other side.  If you have concerns about privacy, please let the Judge know.  If a newspaper or television reporter, or a lawyer or a friend of one of the people involved in the case approaches you during the trial, let the Judge know immediately.  Such contact is inappropriate during a trial.  After the trial is over, the media and the parties in the case can contact you, but you do not have to talk to them.  Call the Judge in your case if you feel harassed.

Once the verdict is read in Court by the clerk, the jury may be polled.  Some jurors find it helpful to give the Judge and attorneys feedback about the trial.  Some jurors also ask fellow jurors for their phone numbers in order to discuss aspects of the case with other people who shared the same experience.  If you do not want to be contacted after the trial, let the Judge know.  After long or stressful trials, some jurors may feel disoriented.  Some jurors may need to talk to a professional about feelings that the trial may have brought up.  The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) publishes a manual “Through the Eyes of the Juror:  A Manual for Addressing Juror Stress.”  This manual is available online at http://www.ncsc-jurystudies.org.

Jury service is a civic duty of every eligible adult in California.  (Code of Civil Procedure § 191.)  This service to your community is the most direct hands-on involvement in government most Californians will experience.  If you honestly cannot serve, the law provides several undue hardship categories that can allow for an excuse for a summoned juror.  Write the reason for your excuse on the summons and return it to the Jury Clerk.  You may have to appear in Court on the date on your summons in order to explain to the Judge the reason for your excuse.  California Code of Civil Procedure Section 204 states, “No eligible person shall be exempt from service as a trial juror by reason of occupation, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or economic status, sexual orientation, or for any other reason.”

The California Code of Civil Procedure § 191 states that jury service is an obligation of citizenship and comes as a direct result of our right to trial by jury as guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States and the California Constitution, which provide the right of trial by jury shall be secured to all, and remain inviolate.  Jurors are essential to the administration of justice.  Jury trials cannot be held unless people such as yourself are willing to perform their civic duty.

The grand jury is different from the trial juries. The terms and purpose of service are different (Penal Code § 888).  People called for grand jury duty should contact the Jury Clerk if they have been summoned and have specific questions.  For more information, contact the California Grand Jurors Association at: http://www.cgja.org/ or view our Grand Juror page located here.

You are qualified to serve as a juror if you are 18 years of age or older; are a citizen of the United States; are a resident of Tuolumne County; speak and understand the English language; have had your rights restored if you have been convicted of a felony or malfeasance while holding public office; are not the subject of a conservatorship; not serving as a grand or trial juror in any Court of this State; or are not a peace officer as defined by Penal Code Section 830.1 or 830.2(A), (B), (C).   

Pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedure Section 209, any prospective juror who has been summoned for service, and who fails to respond as directed and be excused from attendance, may be found in contempt of Court, punishable by fine ($1,500), incarceration (5 days), or both.

Parking is located on the upper lot near the main entrance of the courthouse. (Note: Please do not try to park in the gated parking lot, it is for employees only.)

Business attire is suggested. No bare feet, shorts, tank-tops, shirts with graphics or offensive language are permitted in the courtrooms. The temperature of the jury assembly areas and courtrooms can be unpredictable.  Jurors are encouraged to dress accordingly.