Jury System

Selection

Twice a year, the Clerk of District Court receives 1,000 names from the Secretary of State. These names are randomly selected using voter registration and driver’s license.

Completing Questionnaire

The names provided will receive a written notice that they have been selected to serve for a period of 6 months. With the eJuror system, jurors will have several options for completing the qualifying questionnaire. We strongly encourage you to complete the questionnaire electronically. However, you also have the option of completing the paper copy and physically returning the questionnaire to our office or returning it by mail. 

When your questionnaire has been returned, you will be entered into a QPool (Qualified Pool). When a trial is set, a predetermined number of jurors will be requested. If your name is selected, you will be contacted by mail, followed by an email and/or text notification. If you did not choose to be notified by either of these methods, you will receive a reminder phone call prior to your reporting date. 

Please be assured that the information you provide for email and/or text notifications will only be used by our office for the purpose of jury notifications.

Time off

If at any time during your term, you have a scheduled obligation (vacation, hunting, Dr. appointments, finals week, etc.) you must notify the Clerk of District Court. This can be done by accessing eJuror and requesting to be excused. You can also contact the Clerk of District Court’s office via phone at 307-721-2508 or by emailing Stacy Lam. When the dates to be excused are approved, you will be temporarily removed from the "available" QPool for the time requested. 

The Clerk of District Court strives to accommodate each request to avoid disruptions to the lives of our jurors. We request that you submit your time to be excused at least 10 days prior to the requested time off or as soon as you are aware of the scheduled dates.

Notice

Once you have been notified to report for jury duty, the Judge is the only one that can excuse you from trial. For this reason, it is so important for you to follow the notification process.

Jury Service

On the day of the trial, you will be asked to report to the third floor of the courthouse at 8:45 am You will be greeted by a Bailiff who will check you in and escort you to your assigned seat in the courtroom. You will be expected to go through a security check point prior to entering the courtroom. Jury selection will commence at 9 am.

Warning: If you fail to appear on the designated date and time, the Judge will send a Deputy Sheriff to locate you and escort you to the courthouse. The Judge will meet with you in private at her convenience.

Once you have served as a selected juror on a trial, you will automatically be excused from jury service for 18 months.

It is possible for your name to appear on the list received from the Secretary of State more than once in your lifetime, or not at all. With the recent changes made at the state level to the jury selection process, you should no longer receive questionnaires from more than one Court in any given calendar year. The exception to this would be a summons from Federal Court.

Scams

Beware of scams regarding jury duty; if you suspect a scam, please contact the Clerk of District Court 307-721-2508 or the Albany County Sheriff’s office 307-721-2526. 

Note: We will never threaten you or ask for money; one of these will be the first clue that you have been targeted for a scam.