Jury Information

JURY INFORMATION LINE
409-766-2470 OR 1-888-766-2470

1. Be a Citizen of the U. S. A.;
2. Be a resident of Galveston County;
3. Be at least 18 years old;
4. Be able to read/write in English;
5. Must not have been convicted of a Felony;
6. Must not be under indictment or other legal accusation of theft or any other indictment;
7. Must not have served as a Juror in the District Courts in the past six months or in the County Courts for the past three months.

You may claim exemption from jury duty if:

1. You are 70 years of age or older;
2. You are a student of a Public or Private Secondary School or an institution of higher education and serving on a jury would cause you to miss class;
3. You are the Primary Caretaker of someone who is an invalid unable to care for themselves;
4. You have legal custody of a child under the age of 10 who would be without proper supervision if you are unavailable;
5. You are an employee of the Senate or State Legislature.

You may still serve as a Juror even if you qualify for an exemption.

If you are not chosen as a Juror today, you will be an "ON CALL JUROR". You will be required to call the JURY INFORMATION LINE* tonight and every night this week after 6 P. M. for instructions for the following day. You will need to call this line each evening until the recording tells you that you are excused from your jury service. FAILURE TO CALL THE LINE each evening will not be accepted as an excuse for not appearing in Court the following day if your name was on the recording and may result in your having to serve an additional week of Jury Duty.

Jurors are paid $6.00 per day with an additional $1.00 added for parking, for a total of $7.00 per day. You will be paid for each day that you are required to appear in Court. You are not paid while you are on call. This amount has been established by the Commissioner’s Court. You will receive your check in approximately 4 weeks. All trials for the week must be finished before jurors can be paid.

If you wish, you may donate your jury pay to one of several organizations that have been approved by Commissioner’s Court.

1. Advocacy Center for Children of Galveston County;
2. Women’s Crisis Center of Galveston County;
3. Children’s Welfare Board;
4. The Children’s Center;
5. Crime Victims Compensation Fund.

You will be given a work excuse for time you spend serving on Jury Duty. If you are not sent to a Court today, we will write a work excuse for you when you leave the Jury Assembly Room. If you are sent to a courtroom the Clerk of that Court will provide the work excuse for you. More and more employers are requiring a work excuse so it is in your best interest to get one before you leave the Courthouse today.

The Work Excuse will reflect only the time you actually spend in the Courthouse serving on Jury Duty.

Your jury service may be at another location. If we assign you to one of the Justice of the Peace courts throughout the county, you will find a map with instructions on how to get there on the back of this brochure. If you serve at a J.P. court outside of the Courthouse, you will serve only one day. We cannot choose who gets to go to these one-day trials. It is a random selection by Computer.

Please dress appropriately for Court. No tank tops, shorts, thongs, hats or sunglasses may be worn in Court.

Pagers and Cell Phones are not allowed in the Courtrooms. If you have one with you today, please put your pager on "vibrate" and turn off your Cell Phone.

You will have to go through Security before going to another floor in the Courthouse. Any item that may be considered a "Weapon"; Mace; or Pepper Spray will be taken, tagged and placed in a secure area. You may re-claim these items when you leave the Courthouse. If you have any of these items you might want to put them in your vehicle when we take a break.

Parking in the garage is $1.00 per entry. If you park at a City Meter and get a ticket from the City of Galveston, Galveston County will not be able to help you with the ticket. The City of Galveston controls the meters.

The Courthouse is a NON-SMOKING facility. There are smoking areas located at each of the exits.

There are vending machines located on the 4^th floor. Coffee, sodas and snacks are available. There are several restaurants located within walking distance of the Courthouse. There is a list posted outside the Jury Assembly Room.

*The Jury Information Line is available 24 hrs per day. The message is changed each evening at 6:00 p.m.