Jury Duty Frequently Asked Questions

Jury Administration
Frequently Asked Questions about Jury Duty
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The Connecticut Jury System - Video
What to expect when you get to Court
Directions to Court Facilities, Parking Instructions for Jurors and Phone Numbers
Public Service Announcement - Video produced by WFSB-TV and made available with the permission of WFSB-TV.
Notice of Court closings, cancellations or delays - PDF

What must I do when I get a jury summons?
How do I postpone jury duty?
How do I ask to be disqualified from jury service?
What about child care?
How do I confirm that I have to go to court on the scheduled day?
What happens if I can't go to court on the scheduled day?
What if I do not serve?
Will I get paid for jury service?
What if the weather is bad?
What if my employee is called to jury duty?
What if the summons is wrong or the person summoned has died?
How was I selected?
How can I get more information?
I am a breastfeeding woman and have been summoned for jury service. Can I make a request for an accommodation or postpone my jury service?

1. What must I do when I get a jury summons?

If you are not available on the date indicated, you may ask for a postponement. (See 2. How do I postpone jury duty?)
Tell your employer about your jury service date. If you work full time, your employer must pay your regular wages for the first five days of jury service.
You will receive a reminder notice in the mail about one week before your jury service date. It will contain parking information, directions to the courthouse, a copy of "Your Guide to Jury Service," and any special instructions.
If you have a disability and you will need assistance or accommodation to serve on a jury, please call 1-800-842-8175 (TDD: 1-800-708-6794) or send a letter to Jury Administration, P.O. Box 260448, Hartford, CT 06126-0448 so that reasonable accommodations can be made. The Judicial Branch complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

2. How do I postpone jury duty?

You may ask for a postponement to any date within ten months of your original jury service date. The date must be a weekday that is not a legal holiday. We recommend that you choose a date early enough in the ten month postponement period so that if you have an emergency, you can make other arrangements to serve before the ten months are over.
Make your request in writing to Jury Administration, P.O. Box 260448, Hartford, CT 06126-0448 or by telephone at 1-800-842-8175 Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.

3. How do I ask to be disqualified from jury service?

If you receive a jury summons and believe that you cannot serve, you may ask to be disqualified from serving on a jury by writing to Jury Administration, P.O. Box 260448, Hartford, CT 06126-0448.
The reasons for disqualification are listed in Connecticut General Statutes Section 51-217. The major reasons include:

You cannot speak or understand English.

You cannot serve because of a physical or medical disability (You must provide a letter from your doctor).

You are 70 years old or older and do not want to serve.

You already spent a day serving jury duty in state court during the three previous years OR are scheduled to serve in the near future.

You are not a citizen of the United States.

You have been convicted of a felony during the past seven years OR you are a defendant in a felony case now.

You are in jail or prison.

You are a State Senator or Representative and the legislature is in session.

You are a judge of the Superior Court, Appellate Court or Supreme Court, you are a judge of probate or you are a federal court judge.

4. What about child care?

Children are not allowed to come with you to jury duty.
There is no child care available at the courthouse.
You must make private arrangements for child care.
You may give the clerk's office telephone number to your child care provider as the number to contact you in an emergency. You may be reimbursed for child care and other allowable expenses up to $50 per day, if you do not work full-time (For payment information, click here).

5. How do I confirm that I have to go to court on the scheduled day?

Call the telephone number listed on your reminder notice (and listed below) for the courthouse to which you've been summoned to serve after 5:30 p.m. the night before your jury service date, or click on Juror Attendance Status.
A pre-recorded message will tell you whether the court needs you as a juror or whether your jury service is canceled.
If you are not needed for jury service you don't need to do anything else. You have completed your jury obligation for this court year. A court year runs from September 1^st to August 31^st.Please remember that you have not actually served jury duty and you will not be disqualified, based on prior service, if you are summoned next year.
Weather closings: Listen for weather cancellations on the local radio stations listed for each court location below or call the court location.

List of TV and Radio Stations with announcements about delays and cancellations

6. What happens if I can't go to court on the scheduled day?

Call 1-800-842-8175 to report your situation and ask for a postponement.
If an emergency comes up while you are serving jury duty, you can be reached through the clerk's office telephone number. Court staff will get a message to you. If the judge allows you to leave the trial because of an emergency, an alternate juror will step in for you.

7. What if I do not serve?

Not going to go to court on the date you have been summoned for jury service is a violation of state law.
You may be ordered to pay a fine or the court may decide that you are in contempt of court or both.
Paying a fine does not keep you from being summoned for jury service again in the future.

8. Will I get paid for jury service?

If you are employed full time, your employer must pay you your regular wages for the first five days of jury service.
Full time employment means an employee holding a position requiring 30 hours or more per week.
If you do not work full time, the state may pay you up to $50 per day for out-of-pocket expenses (with proper documentation), for the first five days of jury service. Out of pocket expenses include child care, parking, and mileage or other transportation costs. You must complete a Reimbursement Form, JD-JA-16 and return it to the court.
The state pays all jurors $50 per day starting with the sixth day of jury service and each subsequent day of jury service.

9. What if the weather is bad?

Weather Closings: If court is cancelled because of serious weather or road conditions, the cancellation will be announced on the following radio stations:

List of TV and Radio Stations with announcements about delays and cancellations

10. What if my employee is called to jury duty?

Employers may ask to be excused from paying an employee for jury service by submitting a written application to the judge in the case.
Employers who fire or threaten to fire employees because of jury service may be fined up to $500 or imprisoned up to thirty days or both if convicted of this charge.

11. What if the summons is wrong or the person summoned has died?

Wrong address:
Please correct the address on the mailer and return it as soon as possible. If the corrected address affects your jury service, we will send you a notice in the mail.

Addressee has died:
We apologize if you received a summons addressed to a family member who has died. Jury lists are compiled every year from names obtained from other state agencies that gave us the information before your family member died or that did not know about the death. If the mailer is unopened, please write "Deceased" on the outside of the mailer and mark it "Return to Sender". If the mailer has been opened, please write "deceased" on it and mail it to Jury Administration, P.O. Box 260448, Hartford, CT 06126-0448.

12. How was I selected?

Your name was chosen at random from lists obtained from the Department of Motor Vehicles, Department of Revenue Services, Department of Labor and the Registrars of Voters for the state’s 169 towns.
Names are randomly chosen every year. Every year your name has an equal chance of being selected and you could receive a jury summons every year. Only persons aged 70 or older who choose not to serve and disabled individuals who have provided a letter from a licensed physician indicating that they are permanently unable to serve jury duty may be permanently disqualified. There are no other permanent records of disqualification or hardship excuses granted, so you must ask to be disqualified each time you receive a summons.

13. How can I get more information?

Call 1-800-842-8175 Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.- 8:00 p.m.
Write to Jury Administration, P.O. Box 260448, Hartford, CT 06126-0448.
You may e-mail the jury administration office directly. On all correspondence, please include your name, your current address, a telephone number and your juror identification number printed on the summons or reminder notice.
E-mail questions
Review the PDF publication "Your Guide to Jury Duty", JDP-JA-005.
In order to view the publication, you must have Adobe Acrobat® Reader® installed on your computer. This program may be downloaded from Adobe Systems, Inc.
Connecticut sends a Jury Summons to over 525,000 people every year for jury duty. Eighty percent (80%) of all jurors complete their jury service in one day.

14. I am a breastfeeding woman and have been summoned for jury service. Can I make a request for an accommodation or postpone my jury service?

If you choose to serve and would like to request an accommodation, such as requesting a room to express milk, please contact Jury Administration and talk to a service representative who can help accommodate your needs. While requests for accommodation do not have to be made in advance, it will help us make sure that your needs are met on your day of service. Jury Administration can be reached at 1-800-842-8175 between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.

If you would rather postpone your jury service, you may do so by selecting any weekday within 10 months of your original jury service date excluding holidays.

Please also be advised that children are not permitted to attend jury service with you, and that childcare is not available at the courthouse.

To discuss a postponement, or a childcare concern, please contact Jury Administration at 1-800-842-8175 between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.

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