Seals of the Court of Appeals and Superior Court
District of Columbia Courts

I have a problem serving beyond one day. What should I do?

Contact the jury staff at (202) 879-4604 if you have a scheduling conflict, travel plans, medical appointment, illness, or other matter that would prevent you from serving on a trial. Do not assume that you will be here for only one day; you may be selected for a trial. Other reasons that you feel would prevent you from serving, such as religious beliefs or strong personal convictions, should be explained to the judge if you are called to a courtroom. See Deferrals.If you experience an emergency or last-minute scheduling conflict on the day of your scheduled service, talk to one of the Juror Office staff at the front counter. Rather than assign you to a courtroom, our jury staff can excuse you for that day and reschedule your service for a better time. We do not recommend that you wait until you are seated in a courtroom for the voir dire process -- the process by which jurors are selected -- to discuss scheduling conflicts that might impede your serving on a trial. Upon learning of a scheduling conflict, many judges will excuse you from that particular trial, but will order you to reschedule your service for a more opportune time.

I have a prior felony conviction. Can I still serve?

Grand jurors cannot serve if it has been less than 10 years since the completion of the jail term, probation or parole. Petit Jurors cannot serve if it has been less than 1 year since the completion of the jail term, probation or parole. You cannot serve if you have a pending criminal case, but you may serve with a misdemeanor conviction. If you have concerns about your eligibility for service as a grand or petit juror, please contact us at grandjurorhelp [at] dcsc.gov or jurorhelp [at] dcsc.gov.

I had jury duty today, but the Court is closed due to inclement weather. Is there anything that I need to do?

If you are a petit juror reporting for the first time, you don't need to do anything. Your name will be returned to the general pool of jurors. While you won’t receive credit for serving today, you will not be summoned for service again for approximately two years.If you are a grand juror reporting for the first time, you should report for service on the following business day.If you are a petit juror who is serving on a trial, you should report on the following business day unless instructed otherwise by the judge.If you are an empanelled grand juror, you should report on the next regularly scheduled session.

I deferred my service to a later time, but I never received a confirmation notice of the new date. Do I still need to report?

Yes, you are still expected to report. Although the Court will send you a reminder of your deferral date, it is your responsibility to report on the deferred date, whether or not confirmation of the deferral reaches you by mail. We recommend that once you arrange a deferral date with our staff, you jot down that date in your calendar, or set yourself a reminder of the new service date in your electronic scheduler.

I deferred my service to a later date. Do I still need to mail in the juror qualification form?

Yes, you should complete and return the juror qualification form as soon as you receive it, even if you deferred your jury service to a later time. Complete the form online at www.dccourts.gov/jurorservices, mail the completed form to us in the postage-paid summons packet, or fax it to us at 2028790012 [at] fax2mail.com. Returning your juror qualification form ahead of time will facilitate your check-in for jury service.

I deferred my jury service until a later date. Will I receive a new summons?

You will receive a reminder of your new reporting date, not a new summons. Your juror badge number will not change. You should keep the original summons and bring it with you on the new date. Your original summons contains the actual badge you will be required to wear during your service. When you report for service, the badge will be detached from the original summons and placed in a holder that you can attach to your clothing.

I continue to receive jury summons at my address for an individual who no longer resides in the District of Columbia. I notified the Court of this situation previously. Why does the Court continue to send jury notices for this person?

In order to remove an individual's name from the Master Jury Wheel because that person no longer resides in the District of Columbia, the Court requires the following information: the individual's name, the bar coded jury number (located in bold print on the face of the summons) and the current address, including street, unit number if applicable, city, state and zip code.