FAQS Jury Service
Yes. It is a right of citizenship and required by law.
Every resident of the County who is qualified to serve and does not have a legal hardship or excuse must appear for jury service when summonsed. Willful failure to appear is contempt of Court, and can be punished by fine of up to $1,000 and/or five days in the county jail. If you cannot appear on the date on your summons, you may request a postponement by calling the Jury Commissioner during business hours at (530) 289 - 2930.
We obtain names from the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Registrar of Voters. If the information you provide to these two sources is not identical you may receive two summonses. If the information at the Department of Motor Vehicles or the Registrar of Voters is not up to date you may receive additional summonses. If you receive more than one summons, please contact the Jury Commissioner to correct your records.
State on the front of the unopened summons "this person is no longer at this address" or “this person is deceased” and place the summons back in the mail. The Department of Motor Vehicles and Registrar of Voters is our source of information. You should notify these two sources to avoid receiving any further jury summons at your address.
Yes. A juror who is under 70 years of age must provide a physician's verification note on a prescription pad or letterhead signed by a doctor. The note must state that the juror cannot serve on jury duty for medical reasons and should indicate the length or duration of the illness or problem. If the condition is permanent or long term, the physician must also include that information in his/her statement. Obtaining a copy of your doctor's letter for your personal file is advised. A juror who is over 70 years of age must provide a statement in writing that he or she cannot serve on jury duty for medical reasons and should state the length or duration of the illness or problem, and if the condition is permanent or long term.
Only peace officers whose positions are defined under Penal Code sections 830.1 and 830.2(a) are exempt from jury service.
No. Neither stay-at-home parents nor childcare providers are exempt or excused from jury service. Children are not allowed in the courtrooms. Alternative arrangements will need to be made. Refer to Excuse and Deferral if additional time is needed to arrange for childcare.
No. However, if you are over the age of 70 and have medical issues which prevent you from serving, you should fill out your Jury Questionnaire, listing your age and state the reason you cannot serve (see question 4 above).
Effective January 3, 2000, prospective jurors may be summoned once a year. Your term of service is One Day or One Trial. Jurors report in person one day, and may be selected to serve on a case of any length. Once your jury duty is completed, you will not be asked to serve for one year. If you receive more than one summons during the year, you may be in our database more than once. This often occurs if information received from the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Registrar of Voters are not the same. Hyphenated names, maiden and married names and names containing a space can cause duplication within the database. If you receive a summons earlier than expected, notify the jury office in writing so we may correct the error and update our database.