Jury Duty Reporting Announcements
Prior to reporting for jury duty please complete the Juror Information Form. Your can download and mail the form or you can use the Online form. For information and instructions on reporting date(s) and time(s) for jury duty please see Announcements below.:
Please download, complete, and email the Juror Information Form
The form can also be completed online
See Announcements below, OR Call (662) 369-3090 for a recorded message.
JURY DUTY
A failure to report for jury duty may constitute a contempt of court punishable by a fine or imprisonment, or both.
Jurors are called upon to try two types of cases - civil/criminal. Civil cases are usually disputes between two or more parties involving monies, damages for injuries, or property. Criminal cases are filed by the State of Mississippi on indictments returned by a grand jury.
Juror Qualifications
A prospective juror must:
Jury Selection
The first stage in jury selection is summoning a pool of prospective jurors from the list of local residents eligible to serve. If your name is randomly selected for the jury pool, you will receive a jury summons in the mail from the Monroe County Circuit Clerk instructing you to appear for jury selection on a specific day. Because the process is random, its possible one individual may never be called to serve and others may be called several times.
Just because you are summoned for jury duty doesn't mean you will actually be selected to be a juror on specific cases. During a process called voir dire, judges, defense attorneys and prosecutors choose the individuals who will sit on the juries for upcoming civil and criminal cases. During the voir dire process, the judge and each lawyer will ask the pool of potential jurors about their backgrounds, beliefs, or relationships to any parties in the case. Each attorney may also seek to exclude any potential jurors who seem to be more likely to vote against their clients interests.
If you are selected to serve on a jury, you will be given the trial date, and must return to serve on the jury for the duration of the trial and deliberations. Each juror is paid a nominal fee for their services. If you were not selected to serve on any jury during the voir dire process, your jury duty obligations are complete, unless otherwise instructed by the Judge.
Excused from Service
You will not be excused simply because jury service would interfere with your regular activities or work schedule. However, the judge may excuse you in cases of genuine hardship or need, including:
Exemption from Jury Duty
All request to be excused from jury duty must be approved by the presiding Judge. All request must be submitted in writing to the Circuit Clerk's office prior to the court date via hand delivery, email to dsloan@monroems.com or faxed to (662) 369-3684
If you no longer reside in Monroe County, please contact the circuit clerks office to have your name removed from the voter rolls before the court date. You cannot serve if you are no longer a resident of Monroe County.
Court Restrictions
Prohibitations of Jurors
Jurors must not talk to parties, witnesses, or lawyers involved in the courtroom proceedings. Lawyers know the impropriety of talking to the jurors, and do not desire to jeopardize their case by talking with jurors. Accordingly, if a lawyer or judge seems to ignore you, you should not consider this to be snobbishness, by merely a desire to observe proper rules of the conduct.
Please dress appropriately and always arrive on time. Your tardiness delays the entire proceeding. Never read a newspaper or other material in the courtroom; pay attention to every question and answer. If an emergency arises, notify the Clerk, bailiff, or any other court officer.
We would like to thank you in advance for your service and hope your experience serving as a juror will be a pleasant, rewarding, interesting, and educational one.
