You never thought it would happen to you. On a day like any other day you get the mail out of your mailbox and you go into the house to sort through it. You open a piece of mail that has been sent to you by the State of New York and your heart sinks. You are being called for Jury Duty.
Why you?! What did you ever do to deserve this?! Typically citizens are chosen for Jury Duty if they have recently received unemployment assistance, they are registered to vote, they have a valid driver’s license, they file taxes and from volunteer lists. In other words, you have nowhere to hide and you may someday be called to serve as a juror.
The notice you receive will include a juror number. Keep in mind, the higher the number, the less likely you will be needed to report at all. Numbers usually range from about 1-1600 a week and per day you can expect anywhere from 300 to 600 people to be called. You will also be given a phone number that you can call to find out if you will need to report.
This automated message is updated each evening at approximately 6:00 P.M. The message will tell you if your juror number is needed the following morning and also you will be told where to report. You will need to be available from 9:00 A.M. until 5:00 P.M. so don’t make plans for that day.
You may also want to let your employer know ahead of time that there is a chance you may be out for one or more days that week. Typically you will only need to report for one day but there is a chance that you may serve on a jury for a trial that lasts a few days. Don’t worry, sequestered Juries very rarely happen, especially in Erie County, so don’t anticipate this.
When you report in the morning (Bright and early!) you will enter the courthouse and go through a security check to make sure you don’t have anything suspicious with you. You will check in so the office knows you reported as requested and you will be given a packet of materials to fill out. The paperwork won’t take you long, it’s basically two questionnaires regarding your profession, where you live, and some other very basic information. Some of it is needed to ensure that if your employer will not be paying you for your service, the State will be able to pay you (It takes about 4 – 6 weeks to receive the payment by mail).
You will be given a general orientation speech advising you of where the restrooms and vending machines are, explaining the random selection process that occurs throughout the day, the available televisions and reading material, and the approximate time you will be allotted for lunch (Usually an hour around 12:30).
Then the waiting begins. Make sure to bring plenty of reading material with you and anything else you might enjoy that will keep you busy. Wireless Internet Access is available in the waiting room so you can bring your laptop computer along if you desire.
There are numerous desks you can also plug into, or you can use one of the computers provided. An orientation video will be shown in the morning, and following that CNN will be shown on the televisions in the room. If you need peace and quiet to get you through the long day the televisions on the other half of the room will be switched off after the orientation video has been shown. Feel free to sit back and relax and expect a bit of a wait.
Usually around the ten o’clock hour a group of people will be called by name. Those people are to pack up their things and move over the courtroom. It is there that you will be interviewed and either selected to serve on the jury, you will be excused either back to the waiting room to await another trial, or you will be excused for the remainder of the day. After lunchtime the same type of schedule will be used, and if you end up not being called to an interview at all, you will be excused at the end of the day.
Don’t expect a lot of excitement if you’re one of the ones who don’t end up being called. It will just be a long day of waiting. If you do get called to serve as a juror you might find it exciting and informative.
The good news is, once you have been called for Jury duty once, you will not be called again for another 8 years. Your obligations have been fulfilled and you can breathe a sigh of relief that you won’t have to anticipate another notice. If for some reason you will be unable to report on the day you are called, you can request a postponement with no written documentation necessary.
You will be required to state a week that you will be available for Jury Duty to make up for the postponement so don’t think you’re getting out of Jury Duty all together. In certain situations if you are medically unable to serve on a Jury or are the primary caregiver for someone and are unable to find someone to help you out, you can receive documentation from your doctor or your loved one’s doctor and you will be excused from this term of Jury Duty. No postponement will be necessary.
It is important to know that if you fail to report on the day that you have been called you run the risk of a hefty fine or being contacted by the County to appear in court. Missing jurors are taken very seriously and it’s not really a risk worth taking.
For more information on Erie County Juror selection process and exemption and postponement information, you can visit www.eriejury.com.
