Jury Duty

Florida Statute 40.011 states in part that Jurors shall be randomly selected by the Clerk of Circuit from a list of driver’s licenses provided by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

Florida Statute 40.013 provides, in part, the following reasons a person may request to be excused from serving as a Juror:

• Have served as a Juror in Columbia County within the last 12 months
• An expectant mother, a parent, or a parent who is not employed full-time and has custody of a child who is under 6 years of age
• You are 70 years of age or older
• A Law Enforcement Officer
• Responsible for the care of a person who, because of mental illness, mental retardation, senility, physical or mental incapacity, or is incapable of caring for themselves
• Serving as a Juror will cause a hardship or extreme inconvenience, or public necessity

The following persons have a mandatory disqualification from jury service:

• Any convicted felon whose civil rights have not been restored
• Any person presently under prosecution for any crime

Florida Statute 40.24 provides in part that Jurors who are regularly employed and who continue to receive regular wages while serving as a Juror are not entitled to receive payment from the State for the first 3 days of jury duty. Jurors who are not regularly employed or who do not continue to receive regular wages while serving as a Juror are entitled to receive $15.00 per day for the first 3 days of jury duty.

Each Juror who serves more than 3 days will be paid by the State at the rate of $30.00 per day of service over 3 days.

Once you are impaneled as a prospective Juror in a case, the Judge and the Lawyers will ask you some questions regarding your background. These questions are not intended to embarrass you in any way. The questions are intended to assist the lawyers in deciding which Jurors to select. A Juror may have a prejudice regarding the type of case to be tried that would make them a less desirable Juror for the case.

If the Juror feels that they may not be an impartial Juror and this is not brought out in the questioning, the Juror should bring this to the attention of the Judge. The Juror may be excused if the Judge is of the opinion that the Juror cannot render a fair and impartial verdict. If a Juror is excused for any reason, it is in no way a reflection on the Juror. Any Juror who is excused from jury duty at the Juror’s own request is not entitled to receive any compensation.

Cases which come before a Petit Jury are divided into two general classes, Civil and Criminal.

In a civil trial, parties in dispute come into court to determine and settle their respective rights. The person who brings an action against another is the “Plaintiff,” and the person against whom the action is brought is the “Defendant”.

In a criminal trial, the persons bringing the action are the people of the State of Florida, represented by the “Prosecutor”. The “Defendant” is a person or corporate entity accused of violating the laws of Florida.