Jury Services Frequently Asked Questions

To minimize the number of jurors who must appear in person, the telephone standby system (call-in process) is used. This means a juror is instructed to telephone the court to find out whether they will be required to be ready and available to attend court on the next day or a subsequent business day. If, upon calling, a juror's service is canceled by telephone, they have completed jury service for that year and could be summoned in the next calendar year.

Please call (209) 992-5500 or (800) 479-2456 for your reporting instructions, or view reporting instructions by group number.

In addition to checking the court's website or calling the juror phone system for reporting instructions, you can subscribe to receive juror reporting information via text messages from the Court. The Juror Text Notification System is designed to remind you of your upcoming jury service and to advise you of what group numbers are required to report, have been cancelled, and are still on standby. We suggest subscribing as soon as you get your summons, and choosing the Friday before your standby week begins as the date the text messages should start.

Subscribe to receive juror text notifications

The Jury Assembly Room is located on the 12th floor of the Superior Court Stockton Courthouse, 180 E. Weber Ave., Stockton, California. Assembly Room hours are 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, unless otherwise informed by court personnel.

The courthouse is a non-smoking environment. Restrooms are adjacent to the jury assembly room and public wireless internet access is provided at no charge.

Free juror parking, ticket validation, and accessible parking are described on the Parking Information page.

Dress code: Proper dress attire is required. No shorts or tank tops are allowed. No bare midriffs. T-shirts with inappropriate messages or images cannot be worn in the courtrooms.

Courthouse security: When you enter the courthouse, you will go through a metal detector. Your handbag, briefcase, backpack, etc., will be x-rayed. Any item that Security deems as hazardous, or as a weapon, will not be permitted into the building. You may be asked to leave the courthouse and return without the items, or they will be confiscated. Below is a partial list of banned items:

• Illegal drugs
• Alcohol
• Air guns, pistols, rifles, any firearm (including toy replicas)
• Knives (any size)
• Mace, pepper spray, chemical defense spray or dog spray
• Tools
• Nails, large screws, assorted building materials
• Scissors
• Metal nail files
• Any weapon (swords, brass knuckles, stars, batons, etc.)
• Laser pointers
• Handcuffs, thumb cuffs, cutting restraints
• Handcuff keys (unless person is law enforcement)
• Skateboards (will be held at the x-ray machine)
• Pointed metal spikes on clothing or jewelry over 1/2" in length
• Explosives, fireworks, or ammunition (including dummy ammo)
• Tasers, stun guns or electrical defense weapons
• Felt markers
• Paint or spray paint
• Flammable liquids, starting fluid, fix a flat, etc.
• Knitting needles (metal or wood)
• Silverware (forks, butter knives, etc.)

San Joaquin Superior Court operates under the "one day, one trial" system. "One day" means a day on which the juror attended court but was not placed on a jury or assigned to a trial department before the end of that day. If you are excused at the end of the day, your service is completed and you are exempt from further service for the remainder of that year and the entire following calendar year.

"One trial" means a trial from the time the juror is assigned to the trial department for the selection of the jury until the juror is excused, regardless of the length of the trial or jury selection. If you are selected as a juror, or excused by the judge or lawyers during the proceedings, your service is completed and you are exempt from further service for the remainder of that year and the entire following calendar year.

Requests for disqualification, excuse, or postponement are described on the Disqualification or Postponements page.

First day jurors are to report directly to the Jury Assembly Room with their completed juror information form to await instructions and assignments to courtrooms. Jurors are assigned at random to various courtrooms throughout the day. Please listen carefully when we announce assignments. Once in the courtroom, the judge will advise you of the particulars of the case, including whether it is a civil or criminal case and how long the trial is estimated to last. Shorts and tank tops are not allowed in the courtroom.

Once you have been dismissed from a courtroom, and have been instructed to return to the Jury Assembly Room, you must check in and advise the jury staff that you have been released by the courtroom, and they will provide further instructions and supply you with a certification of jury service if needed for your employer.

Jurors have at least an hour for lunch. There are several eating establishments within easy walking distance and jurors may also bring their lunches. Breaks are announced throughout the day. There is a coffee shop located on the first floor of the courthouse. Additionally, several vending machines are located in the Jury Room on the 12th floor.

All persons serving more than one day are paid fees and mileage reimbursement beginning on the second day of service. Jurors receiving compensation will be paid $15.00 per day and 34 cents per mile, one-way. Mileage reimbursement is automatically calculated from the zip code you live in to the zip code of the courthouse.

If you've already attended jury service, you may log in to the portal and print a PDF of your certificate of completion:

JuryWeb Portal

First, it is the law. Answering the summons, and then serving if selected, is a legal obligation. It is one of only a very few obligations we all have as U.S. citizens.

Second, if you or a family member or friend had a civil or criminal case in court, you would certainly want every aspect of the constitutional right to jury trial provided. While no one is entitled to have a jury that consists of twelve people exactly like them, everyone has a constitutional right to have a fair cross-section of the community represented in the pool of people available to be selected as jurors. This means that the profile of the people summoned for jury service should look like our diverse community. People from all walks of life, both genders, different races and ethnic backgrounds, various ages, and different parts of the county should be represented in that pool. If you had a court case, you would want people like yourself in the pool. When you answer the summons, you fulfill that constitutional promise to others.

In other words, it's not fair if you're not there.

There's more to "jury service" than sitting on a jury. By showing up, you contribute to the cross-section of people who are available to be selected, thus reinforcing the inherent fairness of the system.

Jurors' names are randomly selected by computer from lists of registered voters and persons who have valid California drivers' licenses or identification cards issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

If you are a registered voter and possess a driver's license or California ID card from DMV, you could be summoned more than once if the information given to Voters' Registration and DMV does not match. For example, if a juror has a name or address change, and only contacts DMV with the new information, the Voters' listing will continue to have the old information. The juror will be identified as two different people when loaded into the jury system.

If you should receive two summons within the same year, you are required to serve only once, but must advise the jury room staff when the second summons is received and provide the date you last served on jury duty. It is your responsibility to see that both DMV and Voters' Registration are notified when changes occur in your personal identification.

California law says you are qualified to be a juror if you:

• Are a U.S. citizen
• Are at least 18 years old
• Can understand English enough to understand and discuss the case
• Are a resident of the county that sent you the jury summons
• Have not served on a jury in the last 12 months
• Are not currently on a grand jury or on another trial jury
• Are not under a conservatorship
• Have had your civil rights restored if you were convicted of a felony or malfeasance while holding public office

Senate Bill 310 — Jury service eligibility for individuals with criminal records

Beginning January 1, 2020, individuals with criminal records that meet certain criteria are eligible to serve as a juror. In accordance with Senate Bill 310, which changes the eligibility and disqualification criteria listed in Section 203 of the Code of Civil Procedure, having a felony conviction on your criminal record does not disqualify you from jury service.

However, if you have been convicted of a felony and are currently on parole, postrelease community supervision, felony probation, or mandated supervision for the conviction of a felony, you remain disqualified from jury service. Additionally, individuals who are currently required to register as a sex offender pursuant to Section 290 of the Penal Code based on a felony conviction are disqualified. Lastly, if any individual is incarcerated in any prison or jail, they are also disqualified from jury service.

We encourage individuals who have questions regarding these changes to contact your local jury office. For those individuals who will now be eligible for jury service and wish to serve, please remember that selection is random. The best way to ensure your name is added to the randomized selection process is to update your information with your county's local Registrar of Voters and with the California Department of Motor Vehicles.

Read the summons carefully and follow its instructions. The summons contains important information, including the date and time of your jury service. You may be called to serve in the Stockton, Lodi, Tracy or Manteca courts.

The State will pay you $15.00 per day and 34 cents per mile one way beginning the second day of jury service. This is the amount mandated by the State Legislature.

Some employers continue to pay their employees while they're away on jury service, but they are not required by law to do that. You should check with your employer's policy before appearing for jury duty.

While your employer is not required to pay you while you're on jury service, your employer is prohibited by law from taking action against you for taking time off to serve as a juror, as long as you have given your employer reasonable notice that you might be required to serve. If your employer takes some negative action against you, your employer may be subject to criminal prosecution. You may also file a complaint with the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement of the Department of Industrial Relations.

People who have an extreme financial hardship may be excused from jury duty. Do not ignore the summons. You must respond to the summons in order to be excused for hardship. The Jury Commissioner is happy to work with you. You may have to prove this hardship with a letter from your employer or with some other documentation. Last year, the Jury Commissioner excused 11,472 people due to financial hardship, without them ever having to come to court.

You may request to postpone your jury service only once, for a period no longer than 90 days. In special situations, a longer postponement may be granted. You must mail your request for postponement to the Jury Commissioner's office at least 5 days prior to your jury service date. You will be notified by mail if the postponement is granted and a new summons will be sent to you for the rescheduled date. Students are not exempt from jury service. Please request a postponement to your next school break.

By law, a juror must be at least 18 years old to be eligible to be summoned and serve, but there is no limitation of age after that to preclude a juror from performing their jury service.

The beauty of our justice system is that the people making the decisions are regular people from the community. You do not have to be highly educated nor have any particular expertise to be a juror.

Your opinion is very important, but you are not the only one making the decision. Eleven other people from the community will hear the case along with you. The opinions of each of the twelve jurors are equally important. The decision is made by the group after collective discussion about the case by all of the jurors.

You may be excused if you know the person(s) on trial or people who might testify, and if your acquaintance would make it difficult for you to be fair and impartial. The judge will ask you about that during the selection process.

Contact the Jury Commissioner's staff at (209) 992-5500.