Jury Duty

 Location: 

Civil Family Courts Facility
1700 Guadalupe Street,
Austin, TX 78701 (Map)

Parking: None reserved for jurors. If you are assigned to the Travis County courthouse complex, please review your letter which contains parking information. There are City of Austin parking meters in the vicinity with a 3-hour time limit. Open metered parking spaces are scarce.If you are selected as one of the jurors, you will be provided with a parking permit to park in the Civil Family Courts Facility Parking Garage or you can request a free transportation pass by emailing [email protected] and you will received detailed information for obtaining your free pass to and from your jury service.

• Please send your request 2-3 working days prior to your jury assignment to allow time for our office to process your request.

Transit: Capital Metro bus routes. For information, contact www.capmetro.org.

Travel time: Allow 45 min. to 1 hour. Driving time from your home depends on time of day. Please allow adequate time based on anticipated traffic.

Location: 509 W. 11th St. (Map)

• Middle building in the 1000th block of east side of Nueces

Entry: From plaza behind Main Courthouse. Plaza entry off 10th or 11th at San Antonio St.

Parking: None reserved for jurors. If you are assigned to the Travis County courthouse complex, please review your letter which contains parking information. There are City of Austin parking meters in the vicinity with a 3-hour time limit. Open metered parking spaces are scarce. If you are selected as one of the jurors you will be provided with a parking permit to park at a City of Austin meter or you can request a free transportation pass by emailing [email protected] and you will received detailed information for obtaining your free pass to and from your jury service. *Please send your request 2-3 working days prior to your jury assignment to allow time for our office to process your request.

• Please send your request 2-3 working days prior to your jury assignment to allow time for our office to process your request.

Transit: Capital Metro bus routes. For information, contact www.capmetro.org.

Travel time: Allow 45 min. to 1 hour. Driving time from your home depends on time of day. Please allow adequate time based on anticipated traffic.

Location: 6800 Burleson Road, Building 310, STE 175, Austin, TX 78744, Room 1106 (Map)

Parking: The Municipal Court is be located at 6800 Burleson Road, Building 310. There is free and ample parking in the customer parking areas located on the South and East side of the Municipal Court. There are also designated disabled parking spaces closer to the building.

Transit: Served by Capital Metro bus routes. For information, contact www.capmetro.org.

Travel time: Driving time from your home depends on time of day. Please allow adequate time based on anticipated traffic.

Location: Richard Scott Building, 4717 Heflin Lane, Suite 107, Austin, TX 78721 (Map)

Parking: On Site

Transit: Served by Capital Metro bus routes. For information, contact www.capmetro.org.

Travel time: Driving time from your home depends on time of day. Please allow adequate time based on anticipated traffic.

Location: 10409 Burnet Road, east side of Burnet Rd (Map)

Entry: South side of building

Parking: On Site

Transit: Served by Capital Metro bus routes. For information, contact www.capmetro.org.

Travel time: Driving time from your home depends on time of day. Please allow adequate time based on anticipated traffic.

Location: 8656 B West Highway 71, Suite 100 (Map)

Entry: On both front and back of building

Parking: On Site

Travel time: Driving time from your home depends on time of day. Please allow adequate time based on anticipated traffic.

Location: 4011 McKinney Falls Parkway, Suite 1200 (Map)

Parking: On Site

Travel time: Driving time from your home depends on time of day. Please allow adequate time based on anticipated traffic.

Location: 1000 Guadalupe Street Suite 112 (Map)

Parking: None reserved for jurors. There are City of Austin parking meters in the vicinity with a 3-hour time limit. Open metered parking spaces are scarce. You can request a free transportation pass by emailing [email protected] and you will received detailed information for obtaining your free pass to and from your jury service.

• Please send your request 2-3 working days prior to your jury assignment to allow time for our office to process your request.

Transit: Capital Metro bus routes. For information, contact www.capmetro.org.

Travel time: Allow 45 min. to 1 hour. Driving time from your home depends on time of day. Please allow adequate time based on anticipated traffic.

• Please send your request 2-3 working days prior to your jury assignment to allow time for our office to process your request.

The jury wheel, which is the list of potential jurors, comes from three lists:

• All registered voters in Travis County
• All registered voters from neighboring counties that reside within Austin city limits
• All persons in Travis County with either a Texas driver’s license or a Department of Public Safety identification card

Each year, the Voter lists and DPS lists are merged by matching the names as best as is possible to minimize duplications. The merged list is given to the Travis County District Clerk. The district clerk, county clerk, and sheriff then meet to ‘reconstitute’ the jury wheel by replacing the old list with the new one. Jury summonses are sent from the jury wheel on a random basis.

About 120,000 to 150,000 summonses are sent each year.

To serve as a juror you must meet these qualifications:

• Be at least 18 years of age
• Be a citizen of this state and a resident of the county or city in which you are to serve as a juror (Travis County or the City of Austin)
• Be qualified under the Constitution and laws to serve in the county or city in which you are to serve as a juror (Note: you DO NOT have to be registered to vote to be qualified to serve)
• Be of sound mind and good moral character
• Be able to read and write
• Not have served as a juror for six days during the preceding three months in the county court or during the preceding six months in the district court
• Not have been convicted of theft or any felony
• Not be under indictment or other legal accusation of a misdemeanor theft, felony theft, or any other felony charge

If you are certain you are not qualified, you can:

• Use the I-Jury™ Online Impaneling form to tell us, or
• Mail your disqualification to Velva L. Price, Travis County District Clerk/Jury Management Office, P.O. Box 679003, Austin, TX 78767.
• You may also fax it to 512-854-4744. Please be sure to include the jury number found on the front of the summons, along with your full name and the disqualification you are claiming. All disqualifications are subject to review.

If you are not certain about whether you are qualified, you may contact the jury office in writing and ask for a clarification. In your letter, describe why you think you may not be qualified. Your letter can be e-mailed to [email protected], mailed to Velva L. Price, Travis County District Clerk/Jury Management Office, P.O. Box 679003, Austin, TX 78767, or faxed to 512-854-4744.

You may be excused from jury service if you:

• Are over 70 years of age
• Have legal custody of a child or children younger than 12 years of age and service on the jury would require leaving the child or children without adequate supervision
• Are a student at a public or private high school
• Are enrolled and attending college
• Are an officer or an employee of the senate, the house of representatives, or any department, commission, board, office, or other agency in the legislative branch of state government
• Are the primary caretaker of a person who is unable to care for himself or herself. (This exemption does not apply to health care workers.)
• Have served as a petit juror in the county during the 24-month period prior to the date you are required to appear for this summons
• Have been summoned for service in a county with a population of at least 250,000 and you have served as a petit juror in the county during the two year period preceding the date you are to appear for jury service.

If you qualify for an exemption, tell us on the I-Jury™ Online Impaneling form, or mail your exemption to Velva L. Price, Travis County District Clerk/Jury Management Office, P.O. Box 679003, Austin, TX 78767. You may also fax it to 512-854-4744. Please be sure to include the juror number found on the front of the summons, along with your full name and the exemption you are claiming. All requests to be exempt are subject to review.

If you are not certain about whether you are exempt, you may contact the jury office in writing and ask for a clarification. In your letter, describe why you think you might be qualified for an exemption. Your letter can be e-mailed to [email protected], mailed to Velva L. Price, Travis County District Clerk/Jury Management Office, P.O. Box 679003, Austin, TX 78767, or faxed to 512-854-4744.

The I-Jury™ Online Impaneling form will allow you to list your schedule conflicts. The jury office will take those conflicts into consideration when assigning you to a trial. If no trials are available that fit your schedule you can be given a 90 day postponement.

Travis County will accommodate anyone with a medical problem or a disability to help them complete their jury service.

However, any juror with a medical problem or disability who wishes to be excused may request so in writing. The request should be accompanied by a letter from the health care provider verifying the medical problem and the need for you to be excused. The request can be sent to the jury office by mailing it to Velva L. Price, Travis County District Clerk/Jury Management Office, P.O. Box 679003, Austin, TX 78767, fax to 512-854-4744 or scan and email to [email protected] Please be sure to include your jury number found on the front of your jury summons along with your full name. All requests to be excused are subject to verification.

You can respond to a summons one of two ways:

• Anytime, on the Internet using I-Jury™.
• Weekdays, Monday-Friday from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, in person at the Travis County Jury Office.
  • 5325 Airport Blvd., Suite 1100, Austin, TX 78751 (At the corner of Airport & 53-1/2 Street)Parking is available at 5501 Airport Blvd. (Map)

This depends on whether you fail to respond to a summons or fail to report to court as assigned.

If you miss the deadline stated on your summons for responding to that summons, you can still use I-Jury™ to respond. If you want to respond in person at the Travis County Jury Office, you can do that as well.

If you have already responded to a summons and received an assignment to a specific court, then failure to report to the courtroom is a serious matter for which you can be fined. Once you receive an assignment, you need to make arrangements to be in court on time on the date you are to report.

At impaneling, jurors are:

• Given an oath of office. You may affirm or promise if you do not give oaths.
• Qualified to serve. We depend upon jurors to let the judge know if they are concerned about being qualified.
• Excused or postponed if permitted by law. Most excuses that are not disqualifications or exemptions are at the judge’s discretion.
• Given information about jury service in general. We try to let you know what to expect and what to do.
• Assigned to various trials. Your assignment will be in writing and contain all the information you need about where and when to report for jury selection.

Before going to I-Jury™, have the following available:

• Your summons form (if you don’t have your summons form, contact the jury office at 854-9669 for assistance)
• Your business and personal calendars

Once you have these items, go to the I-Jury™ form. Please pay special attention to the Juror Responsibilities page. You will need to follow those directions to ensure you:

• Fill out the form completely.
• Check your email daily for assignments and updates.
• Most importantly, report to the court on time.

Please read each section carefully. Pay special attention to listing your conflict dates. You are committing to being available for jury duty on the days in which you do not have a conflict.

Once you submit the form, check your email a few minutes later to ensure you received a confirmation copy. This lets you know your form was transmitted properly. Save this copy on your email system until your jury service is completed.

If you provided an email address, you should immediately receive a confirmation email from I-Jury™ after completing the online registration. If you don’t see an email from our office, it’s possible your confirmation email was sent to your spam folder or the registration did not go through. If you do not have your acknowledgment within 2 business days, call the jury office at (512) 854-9669 to verify that we actually received your registration form on our end or if you need to resubmit it.

Your email from I-Jury™ will be your acknowledgment and will be one of the following:

• ASSIGNMENT PENDING: This states you are qualified for jury service and can expect a court assignment in the next few days via email. Read carefully as it might specify the dates you can expect to start jury service.
• EXCUSE: This states that you have been excused entirely from jury service and will not be required to report.
• INFORMATION REQUIRED: We may need more information from you or your physician to determine whether or when you should serve as a juror.
• REVIEW PENDING: Some situations require that the judge review your I-Jury™ form. We will contact you via email once the judge determines whether you are required to serve.

If you do not have your acknowledgement within 2 business days, call the jury office at (512) 854-9669 to verify that we actually received your I-Jury™ form.

What you do:

Add your assignment to your business and personal calendars to remind yourself to appear in court. You are now an Officer of the Court. This is an important responsibility, and your attendance in court is essential.

• Save the email until your jury service is complete. Print the email if you can.
• Read the assignment carefully and follow the instructions.
• Keep checking your email and your voicemail for any assignment updates.

What we do:

Your I-Jury™ form and those of your fellow jurors are being provided to the judge of the court to whom you are assigned and to the attorneys who will be trying the case. The information on the forms is used to prepare for the trial.

Part of this preparation includes deciding exactly when the trial will start. If there is any change in start time, we will notify you as soon as possible, so checking your email and voice mail daily is important!

Text Messages:

Travis County’s award-winning jury impaneling system just got better!  We’ve added features to keep you up to date on your jury assignment. Once you have completed jury registration, I-Jury™ will:

• Give you a reminder call the night before you are to report to court for your assignment.
• Provide the status of your assignment when you call in using the automated system, and
• Send a reminder text message AND text you if your assignment is canceled at the last minute!

When you register for jury service, make sure you enter your cell phone # in the field for text updates to take full advantage of these features and avoid an unnecessary trip to the courthouse in the event your assignment is canceled.

We hope you find these new features helpful, and we thank you for your service as a juror.

The exact starting time for certain trials are not determined until shortly before the trial starts.

If your assignment says to call before coming to the courthouse, you must do so at the time stated. If you call earlier, you may be calling before the final decision is made and may have to call back again later. You can avoid an unnecessary trip to the courthouse if you call at the proper time so you can receive the correct time to report.

There are two types of assignments that give a date and time only:

• RESERVE PANEL: Sometimes judges may add another trial to their schedule. The Reserve Panels are used to provide these jurors for these trials.
  • We may contact you directly by email and/or telephone to let you know when and where to report for a trial.
  • Your assignment instructs you to call in to find out whether you are needed for a trial. If needed, you will learn in your phone call when and where to report. If you are not needed, you will be released from jury service.
• STANDBY: Some trials cannot be scheduled in advance and need to be held on short notice. The Stand-by panel is used to supply jurors for these trials.
  
  • When you are assigned to Standby, you do not need to call and check-in, but you will need to keep an eye on your email on a daily basis for updates to your status. We try to give 24-hour notice if your status is updated to a specific court. If you reach the end of your stand-by time frame, you will receive an email letting you know your service is completed until the next time you are summoned by our office.

Absolutely!

We could tell you all the reasons given in government or civics classes, but most of you have already heard them. We could tell you how serving on a jury is an interesting and rewarding experience, but you’ll find that out for yourself. We could also talk about service to your community, being part of the justice system, the need for citizen participation, group decision-making, and all the other reasons why you should serve.

Ultimately, you have to serve because the law requires it.

The law says that the names of people who register to vote, who drive a car, or who have a Texas DPS ID card go into the system, so your name was included.

The law says names are randomly selected from this system to receive a summons, and your name was selected.

The law specifies who is qualified to serve and who can be exempted or excused, and unless you were discharged under these specifications, you were assigned to a trial.

Finally, the law says that failure to report for jury service carries a penalty of up to $1000 fine, and in some instances, the judge can hold you in contempt of court and order jail confinement.

We recognize the impact a jury summons has on your life, and we do all we can to ensure your jury service is as easy and convenient as possible. But we can’t make it go away.

Once you have completed the online registration, if you forgot to add a conflicting date, please contact our office immediately at 512-854-9669 and we will let you know if we can add in additional conflict dates and get you reassigned.

Once you are assigned, your obligation to report to court is established and you cannot be released unless approved by a judge. If an emergency occurs, contact the phone number on your assignment letter as soon as possible. It will be up to a judge whether or not to release or reschedule you for a later date.

Once assigned to a trial, you cannot be rescheduled because new schedule conflicts arise. One of your obligations as a juror is to be available for service on dates other than the conflict dates reported on your I-Jury™ form.

The judge, court staff, attorneys, and fellow jurors expect you to arrive prepared for jury selection on time. The judge has the authority to authorize the Sheriff or Constable to apprehend jurors who fail to appear.

Failure to report for jury service carries a penalty of up to a $1000 fine, and in some instances, the judge can hold you in contempt of court and confine you to jail. Payment of a fine will not discharge you from jury service. You can still be required to serve even if you are fined.

If an emergency arises that keeps you from appearing, see section Getting Ready to go to Court - I don’t think I’ll be able to come to court as assigned. What should I do?

Your trial assignment letter, which you receive at impaneling or via email, will provide transportation instructions. If you are assigned to the Travis County courthouse complex, no public garage parking is available. You can elect to pay to park for up to 3 hours at one of the City parking meters around the courthouse; however, the number of spaces is limited.

Security has been enhanced. As a juror you can expect to go through security screening, including a metal detector and an X-ray machine for your belongings. Other security measures have been taken which you likely will not see. We recommend leaving knives and other pointed objects behind as these are not allowed to be brought into the courthouse.

Jurors hear either civil or criminal cases. Civil cases may involve small claims, requests for moderate damages, or millions of dollars in damages. They can also involve family law matters or requests for non-monetary relief. Criminal trials include traffic violations, misdemeanors, and felonies.

During the trial, you should follow the judge’s instructions as to your conduct and listen to the evidence. Expect to spend time in the jury room away from the courtroom as the judge and lawyers discuss matters outside the jury’s presence. At some point, you will gather in the jury room and deliberate to reach a verdict. The judge will give you written instructions on how to deliberate.

We use lists of names from different sources to create the list of names for jury service. Sometimes, we are not able to match names from each of these lists. If we can’t make the match, you might get another summons. If this occurs and you were selected to serve as a petit juror from the first summons, the law allows you a two-year exemption from having to serve a second time.

Depending upon the court to which you are assigned, you may be paid $6.00 per day while going through jury selection. If selected, you will be paid $40.00 (Daily pay rate subject to change quarterly) per day beginning the second day of service.

The law does not require that your employer pay you while you are on jury duty, though many choose to do so. The law does require that your employer allow you time off from work to fulfill your jury service obligations, and you cannot be discharged from your job for being on jury duty. If your employer does not comply with the law, civil and criminal sanctions may apply.

We will provide you with proof of your appearance in court when you are discharged from jury service. Please keep this paperwork for at least 3 months after you have been discharged.

When you are released from jury duty, you will be given a form to complete regarding your jury pay. You may choose to be paid or to donate your pay to one of five funds:

• Travis County Health and Human Service Agencies
• Travis County Child Welfare Board
• Dispute Resolution Center of Travis County
• Texas Crime Victims’ Compensation Fund
• Travis County Veterans’ Court Program
• Travis County Veterans’ Services Department

The questionnaire you complete as part of jury service is confidential and cannot be disclosed to persons who are not involved with trying the case to which you are assigned. Your name, however, does become a part of the official record available to the public.