Jury Service

Prepares and issues summons for Jury Duty, provides juror reporting information, and assists Jurors with excusals, exemptions, and compensation.

Jury System

The Clerk's Office is pleased to announce the availability of E-Response at jury.clerk.org. Effective immediately, E-Response is available for you to submit requests to be excused, deferred or exempt from jury service as well as for an early reporting check-in. Carefully read the directions and submit supporting documents, if they are requested. Supporting documentation can be faxed to 386-239-7767, e-mailed to jury@clerk.org or mailed to Jury Management, Post Office Box 6043, DeLand, FL 32721-6043.

Daily Reporting Information

Jury Duty Scam

Identity thieves are using a "Jury Duty Scam" to obtain personal information from citizens throughout Central Florida. The scammers are telephoning individuals identifying themselves as local court employees and advising these individuals they failed to report for jury duty. In many cases the scammer indicates a warrant has been issued for their arrest and requests the individual to provide confidential information such as Social Security number and date of birth for "verification" purposes.

Clerk's Office employees within the Jury Management division never make such calls. In fact, initial notifications as well as follow-up notices are processed through the US Postal Service. Clerk's Office employees will, however, respond by telephone to a prospective juror's inquiry if requested.

Please avoid becoming a victim of this type of identity theft scam by simply refusing to provide the information requested by the caller.

Jury Duty

Jury pools are drawn at random, as of January 1, 1998, from the rolls of the State of Florida’s Division of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles from citizens who possess a driver's license or identification card. Jury trials are currently held in DeLand and Daytona Beach. The specific location where you are to report is included in your jury summons. If you fail to report for jury duty and have not obtained an excuse, you may be found in contempt of court. The presiding judge will make that decision. It is in your best interest to make every effort to appear or to request an excusal.

In order to eligible for jury duty you must:

• Be an American citizen
• Have legal residence within the county
• Be at least 18 years of age

The right to a trial by jury is one of the principles guaranteed by the Constitution. It is the duty of every citizen to serve when called to do so.

Request for Accommodations by Persons with Disabilities

If you are a person with a disability who needs an accommodation in order to participate in this proceeding, you are entitled, at no cost to you, to the provision of certain assistance. Please contact Court Administration, 101 N. Alabama Ave., Ste. B-206, DeLand, FL 32724, (386) 257-6096, at least 7 days before your scheduled court appearance, or immediately upon receiving this notification if the time before the appearance is less than 7 days; if you are hearing or voice impaired, call 711. THESE ARE NOT COURT INFORMATION NUMBERS.

Request for Excusal

The following persons, upon written request, may be excused from jury service:

• Expectant mother or gave birth within six months of your summons date.
• A parent, who is not employed full time, and has custody of a child under 6 years of age.
• A person who was summoned and who reported as a prospective juror in this county within one year.
• A person 70 years of age or older.
• Any person currently under prosecution for any crime.
• A person responsible for the care of a family member who because of mental or physical incapacity is incapable of caring for himself.
• A full-time federal, state or local law enforcement officer
• A presiding judge may, in his or her discretion, excuse a person showing evidence of hardship, extreme inconvenience or public necessity.
• A presiding judge may, in his or her discretion, excuse a practicing attorney, a practicing physician or a person who is physically infirm from jury service. A deaf or hearing-impaired individual may not be excluded from service on a civil trial jury solely on the basis of hearing impairment, if that person wishes to serve. However, the presiding judge may find that consideration of the evidence to be presented requires auditory discrimination or that the timely progression of the trial will be considerably affected.

The following persons have a mandatory disqualification from jury service:

• Any convicted felon, civil rights not restored.
• Any person no longer residing in Volusia County.

All requests should be mailed or faxed to the Jury Services contact information. If further information is required, phone numbers are available.

Our Jury Management System allows you to submit your requests to be rescheduled, check on your juror status, summons status, or view your past juror attendance record, plus much more.

Terms of Service

If you are scheduled to report on Monday, it is possible your term of service will be for Monday only, or, if you are selected as a juror, for the completion of one trial. A person who has reported as a prospective juror is exempt from jury service for one year from the last day of service.

Compensation

Jurors who are regularly employed and who continue to receive regular wages while serving as a juror, will not be compensated for the first three days of jury service. Jurors who are not regularly employed or who do not continue to receive regular wages while serving as a juror, are entitled to receive $15 per day for the first three days of jury service. Regular employment includes full-time employment and part-time, temporary, and casual employment as long as the employment hours of a juror can be reasonably determined by a schedule or by custom and practice established during a three-month period preceding the term of service as a juror. Each juror who serves more than three days will be paid by the state for the fourth day of service and each day thereafter at the rate of $30 per day.

It is very important that prior to reporting you ascertain the policy of your employer concerning payment of wages while on jury duty.

Attire and General Information

Please use good judgment and dress in a conservative manner that is appropriate for appearance in a court of law. Business attire is suggested. You may bring a sweater since temperatures in the courtrooms are unpredictable. Shorts, tee shirts and flip-flops are not appropriate attire.

• Be prepared to stay the entire day.
• Do not bring newspapers.
• Bring a good book to read (magazines are provided).
• Laptop Computers, game devices (with headphones), and music players (with headphones) are allowed.