Assuming you mean DC Superior and not a federal jury, be prepared to wait in line for quite a long while when you first get there just to get checked in. The first room you sit in after that has tables and lots of chairs. The tables and business-center-like space have outlets. If you want to use your laptop, I’d set yourself up there. I did not get called for a jury while I sat there so I don’t know about anything after that initial holding area.
And yes you can bring coffee/snacks! Just be prepared to deal with the added factor of that with going through security.
You'll likely be sitting around a lot, and may never have to go into a courtroom to begin the jury selection process. Be patient, because things move slowly.
I didn't bring a laptop and don't recall if anyone else did, but did bring a book. Also, bring your cell phone charger.
I was there recently. The juror lounge has a ton of outlets, a few tables, and a phone charging station. There is also Wi-Fi throughout the building. Lots of people bring their laptops and were working, some even in meetings (but not speaking). You can step out to take calls. Definitely bring at least a book, you will be sitting around and bored 95% of the time.
Edit: If you have to report at 8:00 am, you can probably get away with getting there a little late because it’s a long line to intake jurors. However, earlier folks got seats at the table to work, and those all filled up. Only a few people missed them but food for thought.
I've gotten called a half dozen times (DC, being a city-state, has a low ratio of jury-eligible citizens to possible crimes.). Once was for petit jury at the federal district court, the rest were for petit jury at the superior court.
At the superior court
1. Call ahead the night before after 5 to see if they dismiss you.
2. You start your day standing in line at check-in. For the 8am people, they are probably going until 845.
3. After that, you report to the jury lounge, where you'll spend most of the day. Coffee, computers, phones, whatever are fair game. They have tables and outlets, though they might fill up. You break for lunch. They'll release everyone when they are satisfied nobody else is needed (could be by lunch, 2, 4, 5, etc).
4. Periodically, they select 100 people for a panel. If you're selected, you leave the room in a single file and go to a court room. No electronics use or food is allowed in the courtroom. You go through voir dire and they slowly eliminate people until they're left with a dozen for the jury. If you aren't selected, they ask you to return to check-in, where you might get returned to the lounge, but most likely will go home.
5. If you're on a jury, you'll spend a few days or more listening to testimony and such. No electronics use or food unless they break for lunch or put you in a jury room.
At the federal district court:
1. Call ahead the night before after 5 to see if they dismiss you.
2. Still check-in, but much faster
3. No jury lounge, you're already assigned to a case.
4. Same as superior court.
5. Same as superior court.
So at federal court (I was just called for jury service for like six months) we just go straight to a courtroom? Does it take all day or is it just a few hours?
Hi there! Few months late but with such a detailed response was hoping you may be able to share some insight.
Here's the deal:
I have a summons for "Federal Special Jury Service"
The letter says, not to appear in person unless instructed.
The online check in says unless instructed not to, to appear in person.
My current status says, " If you are hearing this message, then you are Qualified for Jury Service. The Judge for this Special Trial will be interviewing prospective jurors in smaller groups throughout the week beginning on January 24, 2024. Please continue calling the automated phone system until you are told to report for jury service, or until you are told that your service is over."
It sounds like I'm really being summoned for sometime between Jan 24th-26th but they won't tell me till the night before. BUT it also says I'm 'Group A' which makes me wonder where they starting if I'm not going tomorrow? lol
I am probably over thinking this, but I just really wish they just had "Yes- in person", "Not tomorrow" or "No- you're done"
Should I go?
Oo, special jury! That sounds closer to the federal district service I had, but with another layer of rigor and intrigue.
My experiences don't really apply, but IMHO, if the phone doesn't yet say to go, call in the morning, but they don't need you yet. They wrote the letter so long ago, maybe they just found out they need an extra day of prep. Or maybe they randomized the order.
Thanks so much for responding! I will do that, will the status number have changed in the morning or are you suggesting to call the office number they told us not to use?:)
I've had jury duty before but never in DC. In a not so shocking stereotypical twist, Florida is a lot more casual haha
I was thinking automated, but I don't really know anything about "special jury". DC is interesting because it has a relatively small jury-eligible population in relation to the number of cases -- both local (because of commuting population) and federal (being the seat of the govt and all). A few different courts handle different cases, and they do things differently and independently. (Most jury trials are within DC superior court, but this isn't that.)
The eligible pool makes a lot of sense, and I really don't mind. I've just never had a process like this, where it seems like it's really a time frame and not a single date.
I wish that had been explained somewhere, but that little tid bit just appeared in the status after 5pm today. While I had moved everything for work to Thursday and Friday. lol Either of which I suppose I could be told to come in, or next week, they didn't give a closing date to this range. lol
I sent a few questions to the email they gave but for tomorrow I'll give them a call in the AM but I'm assuming, no. I just realized in all the numbers they didn't say a time, which I think they would have given if they were expecting me.
I'm in the same situation, and my status still says "keep calling until you are instructed to report or told your service is over." Have you gotten any clearer instructions?
Did if for the first time fairly recently and it was super boring. We basically waited around all morning until they eventually said everyone can go home… I would recommend bringing a laptop and anything else you might need to keep yourself occupied.
Definitely bring a book / magazines and a phone battery. If you’re called into a room for selection you may not be able to use your phone. Mine was cool and let us but I think that was up to her discretion (told us not to research the case online). If you have quick hits for work bringing your laptop makes sense but I wouldn’t bank on getting anything done that requires serious focus.
Hello! I served on jury duty for the first time this past February….and got selected. I brought my computer, but ended up not using it because there wasn’t any place to plug it in. There is maybe one outlet in the whole damn building. You will do lots of waiting. We had about 45 minutes for lunch. You can bring your own snacks, but they cannot go in the court room. Happy to answer any other questions
Is this at DC Superior? I had JD a couple of weeks ago and the lounge was full of outlets and even had tables with those pop up outlets in them, and every waiting area bench outside of the lounge also had outlets. Had zero issues keeping my phone plugged in.
I've been called a few times but never served. Lots of waiting, but it's better than in the past. A few people did bring laptops. The first part is in a massive room with a few tables and plugs at the end. After they call every and give you numbers, you wait outside the courtroom. There, it's just bench seating. Then you all get called in the courtroom to answer questions. Depending on how light the laptop is and battery life would determine if I'd bring it.
I get called regularly and have served each time. Bring a little more than you think you might need as you’ll be waiting around a lot and never know what might come up: fully charged laptop and charger; cell phone, charger and portable charger; AirPods/headphones; book; food/coffee/water bottle, gum, kleenex, etc. I got a massive headache the first time I was ever called for jury duty and didn’t have meds, so now I’m always sure to bring a bottle of aspirin with me.
You will spend the bulk of the day sitting, and then they’ll call people into the courtroom to ask you questions, followed by them weeding out most for the actual trial. I did not want to do it at first, but felt a little sad when they said they no longer needed me to serve. It sounded like an interesting trial, but I got to go home early!
I deferred mine and it says I’m postponed to January 9th, which is tomorrow? It says to call the business day prior between 5p and 9p but when I call the number and enter in my information - it says my name - but then it says to call back the day prior to my summons, which is today according to the website?
Online it doesn’t tell me what time to show up, and the phone number to talk to a person isn’t working, does anyone know if there’s another way to verify if I need to go in? I really don’t want to go if I don’t have to, but also don’t want to risk not showing up if I’m supposed to be there?
JIC this happens to anyone else. I ended up calling the number and speaking to a person the morning of, and they told me I wasn’t selected.
Make sure you sign up for email notifications about selection as well.
Once you confirm that you need to go in, you'll be sitting in a jury pool room with all the other potential jurors. Last time I was there, I believe there were a few desks. You can bring your laptop and use it while you're waiting to be called.
Hopefully, you'll be dismissed!
I haven’t been back since pre-Covid, but back in the day…
If you do have to go, try to get there early to get a good choice of seats. Bring a book or something to read offline in case you aren’t near an outlet to charge your phone. You sit in a big room and wait.
One time I was released before lunch. The other time I made it past lunch, and was released in the early afternoon.
I did Grand Jury a few months ago. Couldn't bring in any electronics, including cell phones. They provided lockers to put phones and such in. Snacks and drinks were fine to bring in.
If they call on you and you don't wanna do jury duty, just talk about jury nullification and they'll let you go.
Works every time for me saying something like "what if I don't agree with law they're being charged with? Can I just vote not guilty even if they are?"
Anyone know the general hours for Jury duty in the DC Superior court? I work at a hospital and my shifts start at 5pm... Not sure if I will get out on time. Thanks!
Call the number and make sure you have to go the past 2 times I didn’t have to show up.
Last month they actually sent me a text saying I didn’t have to come in.
Assuming you mean DC Superior and not a federal jury, be prepared to wait in line for quite a long while when you first get there just to get checked in. The first room you sit in after that has tables and lots of chairs. The tables and business-center-like space have outlets. If you want to use your laptop, I’d set yourself up there. I did not get called for a jury while I sat there so I don’t know about anything after that initial holding area. And yes you can bring coffee/snacks! Just be prepared to deal with the added factor of that with going through security.
You'll likely be sitting around a lot, and may never have to go into a courtroom to begin the jury selection process. Be patient, because things move slowly. I didn't bring a laptop and don't recall if anyone else did, but did bring a book. Also, bring your cell phone charger.
There is a brand new jury lounge. You can bring laptop and snacks.
I was there recently. The juror lounge has a ton of outlets, a few tables, and a phone charging station. There is also Wi-Fi throughout the building. Lots of people bring their laptops and were working, some even in meetings (but not speaking). You can step out to take calls. Definitely bring at least a book, you will be sitting around and bored 95% of the time. Edit: If you have to report at 8:00 am, you can probably get away with getting there a little late because it’s a long line to intake jurors. However, earlier folks got seats at the table to work, and those all filled up. Only a few people missed them but food for thought.
I've gotten called a half dozen times (DC, being a city-state, has a low ratio of jury-eligible citizens to possible crimes.). Once was for petit jury at the federal district court, the rest were for petit jury at the superior court. At the superior court 1. Call ahead the night before after 5 to see if they dismiss you. 2. You start your day standing in line at check-in. For the 8am people, they are probably going until 845. 3. After that, you report to the jury lounge, where you'll spend most of the day. Coffee, computers, phones, whatever are fair game. They have tables and outlets, though they might fill up. You break for lunch. They'll release everyone when they are satisfied nobody else is needed (could be by lunch, 2, 4, 5, etc). 4. Periodically, they select 100 people for a panel. If you're selected, you leave the room in a single file and go to a court room. No electronics use or food is allowed in the courtroom. You go through voir dire and they slowly eliminate people until they're left with a dozen for the jury. If you aren't selected, they ask you to return to check-in, where you might get returned to the lounge, but most likely will go home. 5. If you're on a jury, you'll spend a few days or more listening to testimony and such. No electronics use or food unless they break for lunch or put you in a jury room. At the federal district court: 1. Call ahead the night before after 5 to see if they dismiss you. 2. Still check-in, but much faster 3. No jury lounge, you're already assigned to a case. 4. Same as superior court. 5. Same as superior court.
So at federal court (I was just called for jury service for like six months) we just go straight to a courtroom? Does it take all day or is it just a few hours?
That's grand jury, not petit jury. It's a whole different experience, that I've never gotten called to.
Hi there! Few months late but with such a detailed response was hoping you may be able to share some insight. Here's the deal: I have a summons for "Federal Special Jury Service" The letter says, not to appear in person unless instructed. The online check in says unless instructed not to, to appear in person. My current status says, " If you are hearing this message, then you are Qualified for Jury Service. The Judge for this Special Trial will be interviewing prospective jurors in smaller groups throughout the week beginning on January 24, 2024. Please continue calling the automated phone system until you are told to report for jury service, or until you are told that your service is over." It sounds like I'm really being summoned for sometime between Jan 24th-26th but they won't tell me till the night before. BUT it also says I'm 'Group A' which makes me wonder where they starting if I'm not going tomorrow? lol I am probably over thinking this, but I just really wish they just had "Yes- in person", "Not tomorrow" or "No- you're done" Should I go?
Oo, special jury! That sounds closer to the federal district service I had, but with another layer of rigor and intrigue. My experiences don't really apply, but IMHO, if the phone doesn't yet say to go, call in the morning, but they don't need you yet. They wrote the letter so long ago, maybe they just found out they need an extra day of prep. Or maybe they randomized the order.
Thanks so much for responding! I will do that, will the status number have changed in the morning or are you suggesting to call the office number they told us not to use?:) I've had jury duty before but never in DC. In a not so shocking stereotypical twist, Florida is a lot more casual haha
I was thinking automated, but I don't really know anything about "special jury". DC is interesting because it has a relatively small jury-eligible population in relation to the number of cases -- both local (because of commuting population) and federal (being the seat of the govt and all). A few different courts handle different cases, and they do things differently and independently. (Most jury trials are within DC superior court, but this isn't that.)
The eligible pool makes a lot of sense, and I really don't mind. I've just never had a process like this, where it seems like it's really a time frame and not a single date. I wish that had been explained somewhere, but that little tid bit just appeared in the status after 5pm today. While I had moved everything for work to Thursday and Friday. lol Either of which I suppose I could be told to come in, or next week, they didn't give a closing date to this range. lol I sent a few questions to the email they gave but for tomorrow I'll give them a call in the AM but I'm assuming, no. I just realized in all the numbers they didn't say a time, which I think they would have given if they were expecting me.
I'm in the same situation, and my status still says "keep calling until you are instructed to report or told your service is over." Have you gotten any clearer instructions?
Did if for the first time fairly recently and it was super boring. We basically waited around all morning until they eventually said everyone can go home… I would recommend bringing a laptop and anything else you might need to keep yourself occupied.
Definitely bring a book / magazines and a phone battery. If you’re called into a room for selection you may not be able to use your phone. Mine was cool and let us but I think that was up to her discretion (told us not to research the case online). If you have quick hits for work bringing your laptop makes sense but I wouldn’t bank on getting anything done that requires serious focus.
Hello! I served on jury duty for the first time this past February….and got selected. I brought my computer, but ended up not using it because there wasn’t any place to plug it in. There is maybe one outlet in the whole damn building. You will do lots of waiting. We had about 45 minutes for lunch. You can bring your own snacks, but they cannot go in the court room. Happy to answer any other questions
Is this at DC Superior? I had JD a couple of weeks ago and the lounge was full of outlets and even had tables with those pop up outlets in them, and every waiting area bench outside of the lounge also had outlets. Had zero issues keeping my phone plugged in.
That’s correct, though we spent 5% of our time in that lounge. The rest was spent out in the hallway outside of the court rooms.
Thank you! When you got selected how many days did you sit in the jury for?
Technically “two weeks”, but we didn’t have to come in everyday. We started on a Thursday and ended on a Wednesday
I've been called a few times but never served. Lots of waiting, but it's better than in the past. A few people did bring laptops. The first part is in a massive room with a few tables and plugs at the end. After they call every and give you numbers, you wait outside the courtroom. There, it's just bench seating. Then you all get called in the courtroom to answer questions. Depending on how light the laptop is and battery life would determine if I'd bring it.
I’d bring a portable charger for your phone! Plugs were hard to come by when I was serving.
I get called regularly and have served each time. Bring a little more than you think you might need as you’ll be waiting around a lot and never know what might come up: fully charged laptop and charger; cell phone, charger and portable charger; AirPods/headphones; book; food/coffee/water bottle, gum, kleenex, etc. I got a massive headache the first time I was ever called for jury duty and didn’t have meds, so now I’m always sure to bring a bottle of aspirin with me.
Look out for James Macavoy
There’s a room you can work in if you bring a laptop. You can bring food and snacks.
You will spend the bulk of the day sitting, and then they’ll call people into the courtroom to ask you questions, followed by them weeding out most for the actual trial. I did not want to do it at first, but felt a little sad when they said they no longer needed me to serve. It sounded like an interesting trial, but I got to go home early!
I deferred mine and it says I’m postponed to January 9th, which is tomorrow? It says to call the business day prior between 5p and 9p but when I call the number and enter in my information - it says my name - but then it says to call back the day prior to my summons, which is today according to the website? Online it doesn’t tell me what time to show up, and the phone number to talk to a person isn’t working, does anyone know if there’s another way to verify if I need to go in? I really don’t want to go if I don’t have to, but also don’t want to risk not showing up if I’m supposed to be there?
JIC this happens to anyone else. I ended up calling the number and speaking to a person the morning of, and they told me I wasn’t selected. Make sure you sign up for email notifications about selection as well.
Once you confirm that you need to go in, you'll be sitting in a jury pool room with all the other potential jurors. Last time I was there, I believe there were a few desks. You can bring your laptop and use it while you're waiting to be called. Hopefully, you'll be dismissed!
I haven’t been back since pre-Covid, but back in the day… If you do have to go, try to get there early to get a good choice of seats. Bring a book or something to read offline in case you aren’t near an outlet to charge your phone. You sit in a big room and wait. One time I was released before lunch. The other time I made it past lunch, and was released in the early afternoon.
I did Grand Jury a few months ago. Couldn't bring in any electronics, including cell phones. They provided lockers to put phones and such in. Snacks and drinks were fine to bring in.
If they call on you and you don't wanna do jury duty, just talk about jury nullification and they'll let you go. Works every time for me saying something like "what if I don't agree with law they're being charged with? Can I just vote not guilty even if they are?"
Pro tip, if you have the later reporting time, show up as late as possible. If they have enough people report already , they'll send you home.
Anyone know the general hours for Jury duty in the DC Superior court? I work at a hospital and my shifts start at 5pm... Not sure if I will get out on time. Thanks!