Fraud Alert! The Jury Services Department has been informed that people have been receiving phone calls from an out of state area code, telling them that their name is on a list for missing jury duty and must pay a $500 fine or go to jail for 30 days. The Jury Services Department does NOT make these calls, so please disregard these notifications.
You have just received a summons to report for jury duty and are probably wondering, “What do I do? What is this all about? How did I get this?” Do not panic. The court realizes that jury service may impose a hardship on citizens. However, the right to trial by jury is one of the principles guaranteed by the Constitution. It is the duty of every citizen to serve when called to do so. Every effort is made to assure that each juror has a positive experience. Thanks, in advance, for serving.
To help you find quick answers to many of your common questions, we have provided the following:
Jury Services FAQs
The Frequently Asked Questions for Jury Services. Check to see if your question is already answered here.
Jury Services Contact Information
Need to visit, write, phone, or email Jury Services? You will find that information here.
Jury Services Call Off List
Find out if you need to report for Jury Duty on your scheduled summons date.
Security List of Banned Items
Find out what items the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office has banned from the courthouse.
Jury Services provides the courts of Hillsborough County with qualified prospective jurors in accordance with Florida Statutes 40.011 and 40.23. The names are drawn by lot and at random by computer from the list of names provided by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (Drivers Licenses). This list may include only the names of persons who are citizens of the United States and legal residents of Florida and whose address is in Hillsborough County and who are 18 years of age or older. Affidavits are available in the Jury Services Department for qualified persons desiring to serve as jurors whose names do not appear on the list.
A recorded telephone message which gives jurors general information is provided 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If they wish to speak to a clerk, they are available between 8 AM and 5 PM weekdays. Jurors are instructed to call the night before their reporting date (after 5 PM) to learn whether or not they still need to report. If they do not have a touch tone phone, they must call between 4 PM and 5 PM the day before their report date to learn whether or not they still need to report.
If chosen to serve, jurors are summoned approximately five weeks in advance of the report date. If a juror is scheduled to report on either Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday, the term of service will usually be Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday, only or if selected as a juror, the completion of one trial. Summonses are mailed by the Jury Services Department. On the reverse side of the summons is a juror information sheet that gives jurors instructive information about reporting, compensation, free parking, attire, ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), and faxing. Also included is an excusal form with instructions for its use. All juror excusal requests are reviewed. Jurors are notified only if their request was denied.
Jurors report to the George E. Edgecomb Courthouse and check in on the second floor. They are seated in the Central Jury Room auditorium, room 201. After reporting, the prospective jurors are given a handout with general information and shown an orientation video. Following qualification, jurors are sent to court for jury selection. If not chosen, the jurors return to the auditorium to possibly be sent out to another courtroom. Jurors should allow the entire day for jury service. However, if selected, jurors may serve the entire week or the completion of the trial.
Attendance and payroll records are maintained on behalf of the jurors as well as other statistics that are reported to the Office of the State Courts Administrator. Letters of attendance are available upon request.
A grand jury is impaneled twice a year. Persons are summoned for the first Tuesday in April and the first Tuesday in October. The provisions of law governing the qualifications, disqualification, excusals, drawing, summoning, compensation and obtaining of petit jurors apply to grand jurors. Chapter 905 in the Florida Statutes outlines grand jury information. Grand jurors serve for a six-month term. They report on Wednesdays, unless otherwise notified.
