How are
jurors selected?
Jurors are chosen at random from
current lists of persons age 18 and older, living in Ellis County, Kansas,
who have driver’s licenses with an Ellis County address. A random list
is generated periodically at the state level and sent to the Jury
Commissioner in Ellis County. Every three months, the Court requests the
Jury Commissioner to submit a list of approximately 500 persons to the Court
for possible jury service, and the names of those 500 are again randomly
selected and given to the Court.
Some people are chosen for jury duty several times throughout their lifetime; others are not chosen at all. All persons who have a driver's license and an Ellis County address have an equal random chance of being called upon to serve.
What are
the qualifications for jury service?
You must be at least
18 years of age, a United States citizen and a resident of Ellis County. You
will be disqualified from jury service if you have been convicted, pleaded
guilty, or pleaded no contest to a felony within the last 10 years. You are
also disqualified if you are under a present adjudication of incompetence by
a Court. If you are presently breastfeeding a child, you are also
disqualified. If you have received a jury summons from the Court but you believe
you do not qualify for jury service, call the Court at
(785) 628-9415. Do not simply ignore the jury
summons if you feel you do not qualify.
I've moved
from Ellis County, do I still qualify for Jury Service?
No. If you have received a jury
summons from us, but no longer live in Ellis County, call the Court at (785) 628-9415.
The papers I received say I am on jury duty for
four months. Do I have to be at the Courthouse all that time? How do I know
when to appear?
You do not need to be at the
Courthouse the entire time you are subject to jury duty. Every quarter
we prepare approximately 500 names of potential jurors who may be called to
serve during that period of time.
Then, when a trial is scheduled, we will select the number of persons needed to form a panel from which a jury will be selected. For example, a panel of potential jurors notified to appear for a particular trial may consist of 40 people. Through the jury selection process, twelve (or in some cases six) persons will be selected as jurors. The balance of the panel will be excused.
If you are selected for service on a panel you will be contacted by telephone and notified to appear on a date and at a time stated in the phone call. We will use the telephone numbers you supplied when you returned your juror questionnaire. We may leave a message with another person at your home or place of business. We may also use your answering machine
Generally, jury selection takes until noon or even less time. There are exceptions. If you are not selected to serve on the jury, you will be excused after the jury has been selected. If you are chosen to serve on the jury you will, of course, remain throughout the trial. Many of our trials last one or two days. A few last longer, but you will be informed at the time the jury selection process takes place how long the trial is expected to last. If a lengthy trial would cause you extreme hardship, you will be given the opportunity to inform the judge during the jury selection process.
Can I be excused from jury service?
If the scheduling of your jury service
is the problem, you may be able to reschedule your jury service one time
only by contacting the Court at (785) 628-9415. A judge
will decide if you should be permitted to reschedule. If you have health
problems or have other extreme or unusual hardships, you should contact the
Court at the number above. The judge will be consulted
and a decision will be made by the judge whether you may be excused.
I am a student, teacher, doctor, lawyer, etc. Am I
excused from jury service?
No. There are no occupational or
student exemptions provided by law. If we were to exclude certain
occupations or students, a significant portion of the population base would
be excluded from jury service. This would result in juries that are not
truly representative of our community.
Are parents who care for small children at home excused from jury
service?
No, there is no automatic
exclusion. If we were to exclude all parents who care for small children, a
significant portion of the population base would be excluded from jury
service. This would result in juries that are not truly representative of
our community.
You are responsible for arranging for your own child care if you are called for jury duty. You should not bring your children to Court. If the scheduling of your jury service is the problem, you may be able to reschedule your jury service one time only by contacting the Court at (785) 628-9415. The judge will be consulted and will decide whether you may reschedule.
May I reschedule my jury service to a later date?
If the scheduling of your jury service
is the problem, you may be able to reschedule your jury service one time
only by contacting the Court at (785) 628-9415. The
reason for delaying service will be considered by the judge and the judge
must decide whether you may reschedule.
What happens if I have been summoned for jury service?
You will be notified by the clerk or sheriff of the exact
date and time you are to appear, and the name of the Judge that will be
presiding. Notification will be by telephone call at least one week before
your appearance is required.
IMPORTANT!!! CANCELLATION PROCEDURES
A JURY INFORMATION TELEPHONE SERVICE is available 785-628-8214 for the
latest information we have concerning your jury service. Call the above
number anytime after 5:00 PM the day before you are to appear. In the event
the trial has been cancelled, and a message is recorded at the above number
you will not be paid jurors fees or mileage if you appear at the Courthouse.
The Clerk of the District Court will not call you in the event of a
cancellation. IT IS YOUR OBLIGATION TO CALL AS DIRECTED ABOVE TO SEE IF YOU
ARE NEEDED AS SUMMONED.
You may also check the latest jury news on this web page. Every attempt will be made to have the correct information on the web site, but to be sure, you should always call the above phone number.
What happens if I have been summoned for jury service, but I just decide not
to come in?
You may be held in contempt of Court
and you can be fined for failing to respond to a jury service summons. We
hope that you will reconsider.
The jury system is an important part of democracy in America. Rather than relying solely upon state employees (judges) to decide the facts in a dispute, whether civil or criminal, our system of government relies upon a group of citizens chosen from the community to make those decisions. The jury system can only work well if jurors are chosen from a full cross-section of the people. Because of this, we work hard to make sure that segments of our community are not excluded from jury duty, whether through self-selection (i.e., failing to show up) or otherwise.
Even though I have received notice to appear, is it still possible that I
will not be required to come to Court on the specified date for jury
service?
Yes. We may not need all of the
persons who have been summoned for service. You may not be notified to
appear at any time during the period for which you have been summoned.
Even if you are notified to appear, trials sometimes are cancelled before they occur. In the information we gave you at the time you received your jury summons, and again when we notified you to appear, we gave you a phone number for our Jury Information Service. You should call that number at any time after you are notified to appear, but you must call that number after 5:00 p.m. the day before the date you are to appear. This will notify you if the trial will no longer take place.
Some of the jury trials that are scheduled do not take place because the cases have been settled, dismissed or otherwise resolved without the need for a jury trial. We often don’t know until late on the afternoon before the day of the trial whether it has been settled or for some other reason will not occur. Frequently, this occurs at the last minute. For this reason, you must follow the instructions on your jury summons and call after 5:00 p.m. on the day before your appearance.
What do I do if the recording tells me I don’t have to show up?
You should not appear. If you appear,
you will not be entitled to payment for jury service for that day. You may
be recalled at a later date. It is only after you have been required to
attend Court that you are excused from jury service for a one-year period
(see below).
What is the pay for jury service and how is it set?
Payment for jury service is $10.00 per
day until the jury is selected. After jury selection, pay will be at the
rate of $40.00 per day, in ½ day increments. If you live outside of the
city limits, you will be paid mileage at the current state reimbursement
rate. These rates of
reimbursement are set by the Kansas Legislature
Can I be fired if I don’t show up for work when I’ve been summoned for jury
duty?
Kansas law provides that no employer
may fire or threaten to fire any permanent employee on account of the
employee’s jury service or scheduled attendance in connection with jury
service. (K.S.A. 43-173.)
Does my employer have to pay me?
No, there is no Kansas law requiring
employers to pay their employees while they are serving on a jury. However,
you cannot be fired from any permanent job on account of your responding to
a jury summons under Kansas law. Some employers do have policies under which
employees are paid their normal salary even while serving on a jury. You’ll
need to check with your employer about that.
After I appear for jury service, what happens? Will I have to appear again?
No. Under rules adopted by the Judges
of the Ellis County District Court, if you actually appear in Court, you
will not be called for jury service again during the jury term. If you are
randomly selected for another jury panel within one year from this service,
state law provides you may be excused upon request.