Common Questions

Jurors are randomly selected from current lists of persons age 18 and older, who live in Shawnee County, Kansas, are registered voters, and have a Kansas driver's license or a State ID card. Some people are chosen several times during their lifetime; others are never chosen. So long as you are a registered voter or have a Kansas driver's license, or State of Kansas issued ID, you have the same chance of being chosen as anyone else who meets the criteria.

No, not in Shawnee County. If you have received a jury summons from Shawnee County District Court, but no longer reside in Shawnee County, please contact the Jury Coordinator (Email).

You must be:.

• At least 18 years of age
• A United States citizen
• A resident of Shawnee County

You are excluded from jury service if you:

• have been convicted, pleaded guilty or no contest to a felony within the preceding 10 years;
• are under a present adjudication of incompetency by a court;
• are unable to understand the English language with a degree of proficiency sufficient to respond to a jury questionnaire form;
• have served as a juror in the county within one year immediately preceding; and
• are a mother breastfeeding her child. Jury service shall be postponed until such mother is no longer breastfeeding the child.

If you are uncertain whether you qualify for any of the reasons listed above please contact the Jury Coordinator (Email).

Contact the Jury Coordinator (Email) to obtain that information.

Generally, to be excused from jury service for other than health reasons, you must appear in person and speak to the Judge on the date you are summoned. To be excused for health reasons, a written statement from your physician is required. The statement may be faxed to the Jury Coordinator at (785) 251-4917. Failure to honor the jury summons may subject you to a fine for contempt of court.

No, there is no automatic exclusion. If we were to exclude all parents with small children, a significant portion of the population would be excluded from jury service. This would cause our jury pool to not truly be representative of our community. You are responsible for arranging for child care.

With the exception of emergencies, any request to reschedule your jury service should be made at the earliest possible date. Requests made at the last minute may not be granted. Make scheduling requests to the Jury Coordinator (Email).

You may be held in contempt of court and you can be fined for failing to respond to a jury service summons.

Please follow the instructions on the website or in the voice recording. You will be instructed to call back the following day or told your jury service is completed. You are summoned for one week or one trial. If you are selected, you will serve the length of the trial which will be known at the time of jury selection. If you are not selected to serve, your jury service is completed.

Yes. Each week, some scheduled jury trials do not take place because the cases have been settled, dismissed, or otherwise resolved. Often, this occurs last minute. For this reason, follow the instructions on your jury summons, call (785) 251-5500, or check the Daily Jury Update. Follow the instructions that apply to your court date and group number as listed on your summons. If the information is unavailable, you must proceed to report as summoned. You can email the Jury Coordinator Here (Email).

Jurors are paid $10 per day plus mileage. The rate of mileage reimbursement is set by the County Commission.

No. There is no Kansas law requiring employers to pay their employees while they are serving on a jury. However, you cannot be fired from any permanent job for responding to a jury summons under Kansas law (see K.S.A. 43-173). Your employer may have a policy regarding pay during jury service. Check with your employer about their policy.

No. Kansas law provides that no employer may fire or threaten to fire any permanent employee because of the employee's jury service or scheduled attendance in connection with jury service. (K.S.A. 43-173).

If your address is incorrect or your name has changed, please contact the Jury Coordinator (Email).

The names in our jury pool are obtained through the Department of Motorvehicles (DMV) and Voter Registration. Your full name or address on file with us must be identical with the information on file with the DMV or Voter Registration to be considered the same in our system, otherwise you will show up as different people. To correct this issue please contact the Jury Coordinator (Email) by email or call (785) 251-6787

If the name and address are the same on both summonses, check that they are from the same court. You may receive a summons from a court other than Shawnee County District Court.

If both summonses are from us, make sure your name and address appear exactly the same on your driver's license or voter registration to avoid receiving duplicate summonses. Please notify the Jury Coordinator (Email) by email or call (785) 251-6787

We sincerely apologize if you have received a summons addressed to a family member who has died. Jury lists are compiled annually from the Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) and Voters Registration records. Please write "deceased" on the front, mark it "Return to Sender," and place it back into the mail.

You may bring your cellphone, as we do not have any pay phones in the building. Do not bring any other electronic devices. You will be directed on phone usage by the Jury Coordinator when you check in for jury duty.