What is the process to select prospective jurors

The process for selection of a jury panel in Florence Municipal Court is defined and outlined in the Oregon Revised Statue 10.010. Florence Municipal Court is a misdemeanor court and its jurisdiction is inside the city limits only. That means we must select a 6 person jury from inside the city limits to hear criminal misdemeanor cases. Clearly defined by statue are essential requirements such as eligibility, requests to be excused and deferment process, fees, terms, selection and summoning of jurors. Having an impartial jury of our peers is essential to the trial process to ensure fairness throughout for all parties.

The first step in gathering a master jury list is to acquire names of citizens that reside inside the city limits. In order to restrict the search to addresses inside the city limits only, this court compiles a current list every other year by getting approximately 2000 names each from Lane County Registered Voters and from Lane County Property Tax Rolls. The court then cross references those two lists and removes any duplication.

We hold jury trials every third Tuesday and must gather a pool of jurors for the attorney’s to select a fair and impartial six person jury for the particular case before them. We mail out 75 summons for the two month jury service term. Of those 75, we average 15-25 that actually are qualified and want to serve. There are many reasons that a person may not want to serve, or be able to serve at the time they get the summons. The court is, however, limited in its ability to grant requests for potential jurors to be excused. The court must balance the needs of the citizens with the law and the need to have a jury available for the citizen that needs to have his/her case heard. Some common requests that are granted are: if a person is 70 years of age or older; medical requests that are supported by a letter from their physician; a person that is already out of town or provides proof of confirmed travel plans for the term of service. Also, notice of not being a U.S. citizen and death certificates must be submitted. Deferrals are also granted for a period later in the year that is more convenient for the citizen. There are several other “limits” the court must abide by in excusing or not excusing the variety of request it gets. The questionnaire that is mailed to you and must be returned is used by the attorney’s for gathering information in selecting the best possible jury for their case. On the back are some of the options you may select for deferral or requests to be excused.

The court sets approximately 150-200 jury trials a year and of those only approximately three go to trial, the rest are dismissed or accept a negotiated sentencing. The jury summons requires you to phone in the day before each scheduled case to determine if you need to appear or are discharged for the day. On the rare occasion you need to appear for jury selection, only six people will be selected for the trial. All prospective jurors will repeat the process on their next scheduled Tuesday. The Florence Municipal Court will finish a trial the day it starts. It is normal to have a trial go into the evening and the court will provide dinner if that happens. The jury will deliberate until a decision is reached. In the past twenty-three years only once has there been a hung-jury where the case needed to be retried. And only twice have trials gone past midnight. The average time to conclude a trial is 8:00 p.m.

The court strives to conclude a trial in one session for several reasons. Such as limited access to the courtroom (Justice Court has the courtroom on Wednesday’s); most parties are from out of town; reduce costs of bringing back officers, attorneys, witnesses and the Judge. If you are one of the six people to sit on the jury, you will be paid by statue a fee of $10.00 plus $1.00 for mileage for each trial you are seated on.

In conclusion, being summoned for jury duty with the Florence Municipal Court generally requires a prospective juror to call in on two Tuesday’s in a two month period. Please remember jury duty is a vital function for courts and should be considered a privilege, a great responsibility and a very important service to our community.