JURY NOTICE: COVID-19 RESPONSE

*We are hopeful that citizens who are healthy and able to serve as a juror will continue to uphold their responsibility to report for jury duty. *

Potential jurors who are feeling sick, or who are in higher risk categories of severe illness should contact the Jury Clerk to reschedule your jury service.

People at higher risk include:

• People aged 65 years and older
• People who live in a nursing home or long-term care facility
• People of all ages with underlying medical conditions, particularly if not well controlled, including:

• People with chronic lung disease or moderate to severe asthma
• People who have serious heart conditions
• People who are immunocompromised
• Many conditions can cause a person to be immunocompromised, including cancer treatment, smoking, bone marrow or organ transplantation, immune deficiencies, poorly controlled HIV or AIDS, and prolonged use of corticosteroids and other immune weakening medications
• People with severe obesity (body mass index [BMI] of 40 or higher)
• People with diabetes
• People with chronic kidney disease undergoing dialysis
• People with liver disease

If you are in any of these higher risk groups, or if you are experiencing symptoms such as fever, please contact the Jury Clerk to reschedule your jury service.

*Prospective jurors otherwise eligible to serve may be excused from jury service for extreme hardship.*

• A prospective juror may be excused if he/she:
  • Cares for a minor child, or a sick, aged, or infirm dependent, and have no alternative care available without suffering severe financial hardship.
  • Will suffer an extreme financial burden if required to serve that would substantially prevent the prospective juror from paying his/her necessary daily living expenses.
  • Or any other reason deemed sufficient by the court for a period of time the court deems necessary.
• To request to be excused on the basis of extreme financial hardship, you must contact the court bailiff by either telephone or email. You can find a complete list of bailiff contact information here. Please refer to your Summons for Jury Duty to find which Judge summonsed you for jury service.

*We are taking the upmost precautions to protect the health and safety of our jurors and have developed processes that are in place.*

• Mandatory Facial Coverings- Employees and members of the public will be required to wear facial coverings within the courthouse. Masks will be provided to anyone that does not have one.
• Physical Distancing- We have implemented 6-foot physical distancing policies throughout the courthouse with floor and seat guides to assist and remind of physical distancing.
• Elevator use is being restricted to 1-2 users at a time.
• We are significantly reducing the number of jurors being asked to report for jury service at one time, in support of social distancing.
• We are having small groups of jurors in the courtroom at a time
• Enhanced sanitation- We have increased the amount of routine cleaning, with a focus on high-touch surfaces and common areas including elevators, courtrooms, jury assembly rooms and restrooms.