Jury General Information

JURY SCAM HITS FAYETTE COUNTY-BEWARE!

Jury lists are created from statewide voter and driver's license lists. The name of every citizen of the state is included in the statewide jury pool unless such person has been previously excused from jury service for the reasons indicated below.

To be eligible for jury duty, an individual must be a legal resident of Fayette County (have lived here for six months or longer), eighteen (18) years of age or older, and a U.S. Citizen.

Persons convicted of a felony (or a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude) who have not been pardoned or had their civil rights restored are not eligible for jury service.

Only Four Reasons to be Permanently Inactivated as a Juror

(a) Persons who have been declared by a doctor to have a permanent mental and/or physical disability;

(b) Persons who are 70 years of age or older and who have been granted inactivation as the result of their age;

(c) Persons who have been identified by the clerk as being deceased; and

(d)Persons who have been identified by the clerk as ineligible due to their having been declared mentally incompetent by order of a court.

§ 15-12-60. Qualifications of grand jurors; impact of ineligibility

(a) Any citizen of this state 18 years of age or older who has resided in the county for at least six months preceding the time of service shall be eligible and liable to serve as a grand juror.

(b) Any person who holds any elective office in state or local government or who has held any such office within a period of two years preceding the time of service as a grand juror shall not be eligible to serve as a grand juror.

(c) The following individuals shall not be eligible to serve as a grand juror:

(1) Any individual who has been convicted of a felony in a state or federal court who has not had his or her civil rights restored;

(2) Any individual who has been judicially determined to be mentally incompetent;

(3) Any individual charged with a felony offense and who is in a pretrial release program, a pretrial release and diversion program, or a pretrial intervention and diversion program, as provided for in Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 15 or Article 5 of Chapter 8 of Title 42 or pursuant to Uniform Superior Court Rule 27, a similar diversion program from another state, or a similar federal court diversion program for a felony offense;

(4) Any individual sentenced for a felony offense pursuant to Code Section 16-13-2 who has not completed the terms of his or her sentence;

(5) Any individual serving a sentence for a felony offense pursuant to Article 3 of Chapter 8 of Title 42 or serving a first offender sentence for a felony offense pursuant to another state's law; and

(6) Any individual who is participating in a drug court division, mental health court division, veterans court division, a similar court program from another state, or a similar federal court program for a felony offense.

(d) If an indictment is returned, and a grand juror was ineligible to serve as a grand juror pursuant to subsection (c) of this Code section, such indictment shall not be quashed solely as a result of such ineligibility.

All other persons may be considered for qualification as eligible jurors.

Any citizen whose name is placed on the jury list(s) of the county is eligible for service upon being randomly selected by the electronic, computer-based jury selection system of the Clerk of Superior Court and State Court.

§ 15-12-1.1 Exemptions from Jury Duty- Excusals or Deferrals

• Work necessary to the public health, safety, or good order or who shows other good cause why he or she should be exempt from jury duty may have his or her jury service deferred or excused by the judge of the court to which he or she has been summoned or by some other person who has been duly appointed by order of the chief judge to excuse jurors.
• A full-time student at a college, university, vocational school, or other postsecondary school who, during the period of time the student is enrolled and taking classes or exams, requests to be excused or deferred from jury duty shall be excused or deferred from jury duty.
• Any person who is the primary caregiver having active care and custody of a child six years of age or younger.
• Any person who is a primary teacher in a home study program.
• Any person who is the primary unpaid caregiver for a person over the age of six with physical or cognitive limitations.
• Any military duty performed in the service of the state or of the United States, including, but not limited to, attendance at any service school or schools conducted by the armed forces of the United States which requires a service member to be at least 50 miles from his or her home.
• "Service member" means an active duty member of the regular or reserve component of the United States armed forces, the United States Coast Guard, the Georgia National Guard, or the Georgia Air National Guard who was on ordered federal duty for a period of 90 days or longer.
• Any service member on ordered military duty or the spouse of any such service member who requests to be excused or deferred shall be excused or deferred from jury duty upon presentation of a copy of a valid military identification card and execution of an affidavit in the form required by the court for deferral or excusal under this paragraph.
• Excusals shall be by the judge or person who has been duly appointed by order of the chief judge to excuse jurors. (Judge shall notify the Clerk of any excusals or deferments).
• Such a person may exercise such authority only after the establishment of guidelines governing excuses by an order.
• It shall be the duty of the court to provide affidavits for the purpose of requesting a deferral of or excusal from jury service pursuant to this subsection.

Recurring and Repetitive Juror Service Issues

• No person shall be allowed to serve on the trial jury of the superior court or on any trial jury in other courts for more than four weeks in any one year unless he or she is actually engaged in the trial of a case when the four weeks expire, in which case he or she shall be discharged as soon as the case is decided.
• Any person who has served as a trial or grand juror at any session of the superior or state courts shall be ineligible for duty as a juror until the next succeeding county master jury list has been received by the clerk.

A local court order signed by the Chief Judge of Superior may assert guidelines to handle any jury service issue.

Should you have questions or need additional information, please contact Sheila Studdard, Clerk of Fayette Superior Court (Fayette County Justice Center, One Center Drive, Fayetteville, Georgia 30214, Attention: Jury Clerk; Telephone (770) 716-4310.

Your cooperation and assistance is greatly appreciated

Your Role as a Trial Juror

Trial by jury is one of the constitutional rights that we enjoy as citizens of the republic in which we are blessed to live. Unlike in many other countries, all persons in the United States are entitled to be judged by a jury of their peers when charged with criminal wrongdoing or when having civil issues that need to be decided in a court of law.

Your presence for jury service is invaluable. Whether or not you are selected to serve as a trial juror during your term of service, you are making an invaluable contribution by your presence, availability and willingness to serve.

When selected to serve as a juror, you become an active participant in the administration of justice. You should view this responsibility as one of the most important duties that you will ever be called upon to serve in your lifetime. It is an honor and a responsibility which has been made possible as the result of the sacrifice of millions of Americans who have fought and died to preserve our system of justice.

On behalf of the judges, attorneys, parties and other court officials of Fayette County, thank you for your willingness to perform the very, very important civic duty. You have no reason to believe that anyone can do a better job than you. As has been the case for thousands of jurors before you, the verdict is yours!

Courts that Conduct Jury Trials

Fayette County has two courts in which jury trials are authorized by law. The Superior Court has jurisdiction over all felony (serious) criminal cases, exclusive jurisdiction over cases involving title to land, divorce, child custody, adoption, equity and construction of wills. State Court has jurisdiction over all misdemeanor (non-felony) criminal cases and jurisdiction over all civil matters not exclusively delegated to superior court by law.

Types of Cases

As a juror, you may be required to serve on civil and/or criminal cases.

Civil. A civil case involves a disagreement between two or more private individuals, corporations, or entities that have asked the court to resolve the matter in dispute. Some examples of civil cases are divorce, breach of contract or personal injury. A civil case is filed on behalf of a party that seeks relief. Normally, a party filing a civil suit seeks an award of monetary damages to compensate the plaintiff for a loss or injury. The party initiating the suit is called the PLAINTIFF and the party being sued is called the DEFENDANT.

Criminal. A criminal case is an issue between the state and one or more individuals and is based upon the occurrence of an alleged violation of a state statue enacted for the benefit of the public. The court is asked to punish the offender. Examples of criminal cases are murder, burglary, shoplifting and operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs. In a criminal case the action is brought in the name and on behalf of the people of the State of Georgia as plaintiff against the person accused of committing a crime, who is the DEFENDANT. The district attorney is the prosecuting attorney in superior court and the solicitor-general is the prosecutor in state court. Jurors decide guilt or innocence in a criminal case and are not responsible for imposing punishment, except in a capital punishment (death penalty) trial.

How You Become a Juror

If the Council of Superior Court Clerks of Georgia determines that you are eligible for jury service, your name is placed in the county's master jury pool stored on a computer program. Names of potential jurors are randomly selected by the computer-based jury selection program for specific selection dates. Once selected, you will receive from the Clerk's Office a jury summons commanding your appearance for service. The summons provides the following information: the court in which you will serve, the date and time of jury selection, where you are to report for service, answers to common questions jurors ask, an affidavit for asking for deferral or excusal from jury service and contact information for the Clerk. You should return the affidavit portion of the summons to the Clerk's Office within 5 days after you receive the summons.

Deferrals and Excusals

Deferral from Jury Service. As indicated above, all persons summoned for jury service must report on the date and time stated in the jury summons. You may ask for a deferral from jury service if the following circumstances exist (as provided by O.C.G.A. § 15-12-1):

• You will be engaged in work necessary to the public health, safety, or good order during the you have been summoned for jury service established for your jury duty;
• You are full-time student and enrolled and taking classes or exams at a college, university, vocational school, or other postsecondary school;
• You are the primary caregiver having active care and custody of a child under four years of age and have no reasonably available alternative child care;
• You are on active-duty military status;
• You are 70 years of age or older and no longer desire to serve on jury duty;
• You show "other good cause" why you should be exempt from jury duty.

Requests for deferral from jury service must be made in writing to the Clerk of Court. An affidavit is provided on the back of the jury summons you receive from the clerk for this purpose. If you are granted a deferral by the clerk, you will be re-summoned for service during the next term of court. You are not excused from jury duty.

Excusal from Jury Service. You may be excused from jury service if:

• You are not a citizen of the United States;
• You are not a resident of Fayette County;
• You are a convicted felon whose civil rights have not been restored as the result of a pardon;
• You are permanently physically or mentally ill and have a doctor or psychiatrist provide the clerk an affidavit requesting your excusal from jury service for this purpose.

Requests for excusal from jury service must be made in writing to the Clerk of Court. An affidavit is provided on the back of the jury summons you receive from the clerk for this purpose. When an excusal is granted by the clerk, you will not be called for jury duty again; however, as a result of the jury revision process, you may receive additional jury qualification questionnaires to confirm that your status as person ineligible for jury duty still exists.

An individual is exempt from service as a grand juror if he or she:

• Has been or are you presently charged with a felony offense and is in a pretrial release program, a pretrial release and diversion program, a pretrial intervention and diversion program, or a similar diversion program from another state, or a similar federal court diversion program for a felony offense.
• Is currently serving a sentence for a felony offense in this or any other state.
• Is participating in a drug court division, mental health court division, veterans' court division, a similar court program from another state, or a similar federal court program for a felony offense.

Reporting for Service

All persons summoned for jury service must report on the date and time stated on the summons unless deferred or excused by the clerk of court. Failure to do so may subject you to the contempt powers of the court (a fine, incarceration and/or both). Report to the Fayette County Courthouse. Security officers are stationed at the main entrances to the courthouse, where they will check you using metal detection devices to ensure that you and others entering the courthouse are not brining any weapon into the facility. The security officers will direct you to the Jury Assembly Room.

Oaths

By law, you and all other potential jurors must take a general oath, as follows:

"You shall well and truly try each case submitted to you during the present term and a true verdict give, according to the law as given you in charge and the opinion you entertain of the evidence produced to you, to the best of your skill and knowledge, without favor or affection to either party, provided you are not discharged from the consideration of the case submitted. So help you God."

Panels

Before going through the selection process, you and other jurors will be divided into panels. The clerk and judge will explain the process to you. When your panel is called, you and others will participate in an examination process called "voir dire" (a French phrase meaning "to speak the truth"). Before doing so, you will take the voir dire oath for each case in which a jury is selected. The voir dire oath is: "You shall give true answers to all questions as may be asked by the court or its authority, including all questions asked by the parties or their attorneys, concerning your qualifications as jurors in the case of __________ (herein state the case). So help you God."

Attorneys use voir dire to become better acquainted with jurors. They will ask you questions about your background, general beliefs and feelings. They will also want to know whether you know anything about the case or parties involved in the case and, if you do, if what you know will prevent you from being a fair and impartial juror if you are selected. You will be disqualified as juror if you are related closely to any person involved in a case.

Employee-Employer Information

Since jury service is a mandated civic duty, it is very important that employers support employees who are called for jury service. Individuals, businesses and corporations benefit from and are protected by the courts and, thus, the ongoing support of the private sector is a necessary component of the jury system. Civil litigation commonly involves business-related disputes (including actions concerning contracts, wrongful termination, product defects, environmental issues, malpractice, intellectual fraud and personal injury).

As an employer, you are required by law to allow an employee time off from work to serve on jury duty. O.C.G.A. § 34-1-3 prohibits discrimination against an employee for his or her attendance at a judicial proceeding in response to a court order or process, which includes jury summonses. An employee is entitled to pay while serving as a juror. In 1989, Georgia's attorney general interpreted state law pertaining juror, stating that an employer must pay an employee's salary when the employee misses work due to jury duty. (See 1989 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 89-55).(link to the AG’s letter)

Length of Service

The jury selection process normally takes one day. Jurors may be selected for service on more than one case, with the dates for actual trials occurring several days or even as long as a month after jury selection. Jurors are provided reminder forms which state the date and time for trials for which they are selected to serve. Please remember that your service is for the entire week.

Reimbursement

You will be reimbursed $25.00 for each day that you serve as a juror. The reimbursement is for expenses you incur while serving as a juror. You will be paid with a debit card. Click here for information on using the CourtFunds debit card. Additionally, a certificate of service will be provided for each day you serve. You may provide the certificate to your employer as proof of your service.

Conduct

During and after jury selection and during the trial:

• You must always be on time. Tardiness causes delay to the court, attorneys, parties, witnesses and other jurors.
• During a recess or breaks, you must not talk to anyone concerning the case. Wear the juror identification badge provided to you by the clerk at all times during your service. If anyone tries to talk with you about the case in which you are serving as a juror, you warn them that you are a juror and that you can not discuss the case and, if they continue to try to talk with you about the case, you should report their attempt to the court, the bailiff(s), the clerk or the sheriff. Also, you should not read any newspaper articles or listen or watch any televised news programs concerning the case(s) for which you have been selected for service as a juror.
• Careful attention should be paid to the judge, attorneys and witnesses. If you can not hear what is being said, you should bring that fact to the judge's attention. Hearing impairment devices are provided for juror's usage in the courtroom upon request.
• When a court session begins and the judge enters the courtroom, everyone in the courtroom should rise as instructed by the attending bailiffs.