Court cases are often decided by a “jury.” Juries are typically a group of people from the area who are asked to consider all the evidence in a given case, and provide specific findings and recommendations to the court. If you receive a notice to serve on a jury, you are legally required to show up or contact the court.

Typically, courts pull names from the voter registration list from the State of Louisiana. After which, potential jurors are mailed a qualification questionnaire form to complete and return to the court. If the court decides that you are qualified to serve, your name is entered into a pool and you may be randomly selected as a juror.

A prospective juror must be:

• a citizen of the United States;
• a resident of the county/parish in which summoned, for a least one year;
• at least 18 years old;
• able to read, write, and speak the English language;
• not be deemed incompetent due to medical or physical infirmity; and
• not under indictment for a felony, nor convicted of a felony for which a pardon has not been granted.

If you do not report for jury duty and you are not excused by the court, you may be charged a fine of $1000, imprisoned for up to three days, ordered to perform community service, or face other penalties. If you are unable to serve, you should contact the court as soon as possible. Beware of fraudsters pretending to be the Clerk of Court calling you to let you know you missed Jury Duty and must provide personal information such as your social security number to prevent jail time. Do NOT give out your personal information over the telephone. The real Clerk of Court’s Office will NEVER ask for personal information over the telephone.

Sometimes the court may excuse you from jury service or require you to report at a later date. This could depend on many factors, such you are full-time student or jury service would cause you undue hardship. You should contact the court promptly about your situation if you feel you cannot serve.

Bring your “Notice to Report” with you when you report for jury duty. You may also want to bring a book or magazine, since there can be long periods of time when you will not be needed in the courtroom. If you have special dietary needs, you may bring your food or snacks with you.

You should wear appropriate attire for a courtroom meaning business causal or business attire. You should not wear shorts, jeans, tank tops, t-shirts, hats or flip-flop sandals. You may want to bring a sweater or jacket since the courtrooms can get cold.

Contact the jury section/management before the beginning of your term of service. The clerks will work with you on this.

There are laws which prevent your employer from firing you because of jury service. To be protected by these laws you must give your employer reasonable notice after you have been called to appear and when you are selected for jury duty.

• https://www.36jdc.com/jury-duty
• http://www.laed.uscourts.gov/jury-information/faq
• http://www.laed.uscourts.gov/jury-information/jury-scams