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Juror's Guide
to Jury Service
Jury Trial Schedule
WELCOME! You have been chosen
for jury service in the Dodge County Circuit Court System.
The right to a trial by jury is the cornerstone of your Country's justice system. As
a juror, you have a vital
role to play!
Have Questions? This page's
purpose is to answer some of the most common questions
asked.
Why Me?
Why not? Trial by jury is a
cherished constitutional right. Every resident of an
area served by a circuit court who is at least 18 years of
age, a U.S. citizen, and able to understand English, is
qualified to serve as a juror.
No person who is qualified and able to
serve may be excluded on the basis of sex, race, color,
sexual orientation, disability, religion, national origin,
marital status, family status, income, age, ancestry, or
physical condition.
A person selected for jury service is
selected at random from a master listing using the Wisconsin
Department of Transportation's list of people with motor
vehicle licenses or identification cards who live in Dodge
County.
Do I have to Serve?
Yes - in most instances. The law
requires all qualified state citizens be available to serve
as jurors. Not all persons summoned actually serve as
a juror. A person may not be selected as a result of a
process known as "voir dire" (vwa deer) whereby the parties
in the case (and the judge in some circumstances) ask
questions to determine a potential juror's qualifications or
degree of impartiality to serve on a particular trial.
The court may excuse a person from
jury service if the court determines the person cannot
fulfill the responsibilities of a juror. If the court
determines jury service would entail undue hardship, extreme
inconvenience, serious obstruction or delay of justice, the
court may defer service to a later date set by the court.
The court may require a person document the basis for any
excuse or deferral.
What about my job?
Jury service is a civic duty.
State law protects your job. Your employer can't fire
you, demote you, threaten or intimidate you because of jury
service.
What should I wear?
Dress comfortably, but avoid extremes
in dress; for instance, ragged cutoff jeans/T-shirts or
clothing with inappropriate or offensive writing on them.
There are no prescribed dress codes, but judges have been
known to order people to reappear in appropriate attire.
Slacks or skirts with a blouse, shirt or sweater for women;
slacks with a shirt or sweater for men are all appropriate
attire.
Will I be waiting long?
Resolving legal disputes can be
complex and unpredictable work. Often, cases are
settled at the very last minute. When the jury is
actually ready to hear the case, the parties often work out
a last-minute compromise rather than gamble on what the jury
will decide. These settlements may seem very
inconvenient to you, but such settlements usually save time
for all trial participants - and saves the taxpayers' money.
And yes -- you may want to bring something to read -- it
will help make the time pass.
What if I have a Disability?
If you have a disability which will
require an accommodation by the court to allow you to serve
as a juror, please contact the Clerk of Court's Office as
soon as possible.
Can I go Home at Night?
Most trials last only one day.
When a trial does last longer, the judge usually adjourns so
that you can return home each day at a reasonable hour.
Very rarely are you required to stay overnight.
What are My Duties as a Juror?
Now that you may actually have the
opportunity to serve on a jury you may be wondering just how
to act and what exactly is expected of our as a juror.
Your are in a position of responsibility. You are
expected to conduct yourself in way that on one may
question your impartiality and integrity as a juror.
The court has developed ten basic, yet
very important, rules for jurors to follow. They are
intended to help maintain order, fairness and impartiality
in court proceedings.
Your most important qualifications are
fairness and impartiality. Follow these ten rules and
you should do just fine.
- Listen carefully and observe.
Weigh the credibility of witnesses and evaluate
exhibits. You must base your decision on all the
evidence presented to you.
- Keep an open mind.
Do not form hasty opinions or conclusions. Wait
until all the evidence is presented and closing arguments
are made.
- Control your emotions.
You may be confronted with exhibits or testimony that
makes you uncomfortable. Be prepared. You
should not give any visual or audible indication that you
have been affected.
- Do not discuss the case.
During the trial, you should not talk about the case to
anyone, including other jurors. Such discussion
could cause you to form conclusions before all the
evidence has been presented.
- Do not read, view, or listen to
media accounts.
Newspaper, radio or television reports might present a
biased or unbalanced view of the case. You must make
your decision based on the evidence presented in court.
- Do not talk with anyone related
to the case.
You should not talk to attorneys, parties, witnesses, or
anyone connected to the case. This might be
perceived as an attempt to influence your verdict.
- Do not investigate the case on
your own.
Since the only evidence you can consider is that
presented in court, you are not allowed to make an
independent investigation or to inspect the places
involved in the case on your own.
- Report problems to the court.
If you become aware of anything that causes you concern,
whether inside or outside the courtroom, the court should
be made aware of it. Report your concern to the
bailiff or court clerk outside of the hearing of other
jurors. Do not discuss the matter with other jurors.
- Report emergencies to the court.
If an emergency or illness affects your jury service
during the trail, inform the bailiff or court clerk.
- Be on time for court.
Since each juror must hear all the evidence, tardiness
causes delay and wastes everyone's time.
Lunch
Noon lunch will be provided to those
who are selected to sit as jurors.
Items to leave at home
Please do not bring to court with you any of the following
items: food, beverages, cell phones or pagers. Also – Please
no gum chewing in the courtroom.
Juror Reimbursement
You will be paid $30 per day and 42.5
cents per mile round trip to the Courthouse for each day you
are required to report. It is important that you
inform the Jury Clerk as to your mileage so that you can be
reimbursed properly. This is the mileage from your
home, to the courthouse, and then back again.
Parking
There is ample parking in front of the
Dodge County Courts.
When to report for Jury Duty
You will be mailed a summons for each
trial that you are required to serve on. If you
receive more than one summons you will be required to serve
at each of them unless cancelled. Dodge County uses a
voice mail recording system, and the internet, to verify if
the trial is still scheduled, or if it has settled during
the last hours prior to the trial. The internet system
will allow for the most advance notice of trial cancellation
and may be checked on a regular basis for trial updates.
Click here for the current jury
trial schedule. There is also a link at the top of
this page that you may use after reading these instructions.
With the phone system, call the night before the trial to
(920) 386-3919 anytime after 5:00pm. The recording is
on until 8:00am the following morning. Once the month
has passed, you have fulfilled your civic obligation for at
least four years. Infrequently, jurors may be
selected for a longer trial which may go beyond the one
month period.
Please be advised that you may be
required to show a picture ID at the time you check in for
jury duty.
PHONE NUMBERS:
(920) 386-3820 Jury Clerk
(920) 386-3919 Tape-recorded message for jurors to report is
available between 5:00pm and 8:00am Monday through Friday
and all weekend long.
INTERNET
The online
Jury Trial Schedule
may be used in place of the phone system and may provide
more advance notice of jury trial cancellations than the
phone system. If the Internet is unavailable for any
reason, you must still check-in to find out if you need to
report for jury duty. Please use the phone system in
this case.
Jury Questionaire
You may complete the jury questionaire
you received in the mail, or complete one online. To
compete one on the internet, go to the Wisconsin Courts
Jury
Qulification Questionaire page and follow the
instructions. You will need the Juror ID number from
the questionaire you received in the mail to complete the
online questionaire.
To learn more about jury service, visit the Wisconsin
Court System website at
www.wicourts.gov/services/juror/index.htm and look for
The Wisconsin Jury Handbook. |
