| JURY
SELECTION |
You may wonder how you came to be
called for jury duty. Your name was taken from the voter registration list of your
parish, according to guidelines which assure a random selection from a fair cross-section
of the community. You are then mailed a qualification form to fill in and mail
back. After it was determined by the court that you were qualified to serve, you
were summoned for a one-month term. After you have complete the term you will not be
called again unless, by coincidence, your name is again drawn from the voter registration
list in future years. If you are called again within two years after service in the
federal court, you may be excused upon request. |
| REPORTING FOR DUTY |
Jury duty can commence early in our court and it is critical
that you report on time. Due to the volume of cases scheduled and because no juror
will be dismissed until all the judges have selected their juries, you should allow a full
day for jury service. You may wish to bring reading material or needlework to pass the
time during your stay.
Please bring a sweater or jacket since the courtrooms are often quite cool.
If you have specific dietary needs, feel free to bring snacks, lunch or juices for that
purpose. |
| NOTICE TO REPORT |
You will receive a "NOTICE TO REPORT"
instructing you to come in on a certain day and time. It is important that you read
this notice carefully and follow the instructions exactly. You must call the
telephone number on your notice after 6:00 p.m. (not earlier) the night before you are to
report even though it may be a Sunday or holiday. A recorded message is on all
night. Following the message, you are instructed to leave your name and telephone
number. It is important that you do so in the event there are changes. |
| LENGTH AND FREQUENCY OF SERVICE |
You have been summoned for a one month term of service.
However, you will not be at the court every day for a month. You will probably be
required to appear only once. If you are selected, you will serve for the duration
of the trial. If you are not selected, you will not have to return again during the
term unless the court has unusual scheduling demands. If you report for jury duty
and are not selected, you need not return until you receive another notice.
Sometimes the trial for which you have been called will be canceled before its scheduled
date. When this happens, you will receive a recorded message on the answer phone
telling you not to report. When you receive a "Do Not Report" message, you
should discard that notice and do not report until you receive another written notice. |
| TRIAL LENGTH |
Most of our trials last one to three days, though occasionally,
a trial will last longer. The judge will dismiss the jury each evening and will tell
you exactly what time you must return the following morning. If it is necessary for the
trial to continue later into the evening than expected, you will be given enough time to
get in touch with your family and to make arrangements for transportation if necessary.
For this and other reasons, it is important to make sure there is some way to get a
message to your family by telephone any time that you must serve on the
jury for a case. |
| OVERNIGHT |
It is extremely rare for a jury to have to remain
overnight. If this should happen, you will be paid a basic subsistence allowance at
the rate established for the court personnel when required to travel on government
business. If a jury is sequestered (kept together for security purposes), the
government will pay all expenses for food and lodging. |
