San Antonio Jury Instructions

JURY INFORMATION AVAILABLE 24 HOURS A DAY AT:

INFORMATION ABOUT FEDERAL JURY SERVICE

LOCATION:
U.S. Courthouse
262 West Nueva Street
San Antonio, Texas 78207
Courthouse Location

You will report for jury duty to the Jury Assembly Room on the Second Floor of the courthouse. The Jury Assembly Room is located in Room 2-200. Restroom facilities are located on this floor.

ENTERING COURTHOUSE:
Please have a picture identification card available to present entering the courthouse building. The courthouse opens at 8:00 a.m.

PARKING:
There is a public parking garage located at 211 South Flores Street. Walk towards the United States Federal Courthouse using the walkway on West Nueva Street. Do not park at parking meters. The Court is not responsible for parking violations or towing charges. If you require handicap parking, please call the Jury Department at (210) 472-6550, extension 5015 or extension 5019, or toll free at (800) 659-2497.

YOUR SUMMONS:
Your summons packet includes important information about your jury service in Federal Court.

How long will I serve?
Your jury pool is subject to being called during the entire month beginning with the day of your summons.

What day do I begin my service?
Your Summons will instruct you to report on a certain day and time (allow the entire day for your jury service.)

The summons indicates that I am on call for the entire month. How will I be informed about when to report?
Jurors are instructed to access our message system after 6:00 p.m. each Sunday night. When accessing our message system via phone or the web, you must enter your Juror Participant Number. The Participant Number can be found on your summons.

What is the expected length and frequency of my service?
Jury selections are scheduled on Mondays with very few exceptions. If you report for jury duty and are not selected, you will receive instructions to call each Sunday during the month, after 6:00 p.m. for further instructions. Again, jurors can be summoned more than once during the particular month of their initial summons; and jurors can serve on more than one trial within that same month. If you are selected for a trial and it lasts more than one day, the judge will dismiss the jury each evening and instruct you as to what time you will need to report in the next day. Most of the trials are estimated from 1 – 3 days. If the trial continues later into the evening than expected, you will be given enough time to get in touch with your family to make arrangements.

JUROR INFORMATION FORM:
Enclosed with your summons you will find a Juror Information Form and Supplemental Questionnaire. Please complete these forms and return them as soon as possible. All blanks must be answered. It is very important that you include your phone number, in the event our office needs to contact you should changes in the Court’s schedule occur. If a question does not pertain to you please mark with a N/A (Not Applicable). You will receive a self-addressed, postage paid envelope to be used when returning the completed forms.

EXCUSES:
Federal Law allowing the granting of excuses is very strict. Request for excuses and postponements should be mailed with the completed Juror Information Form and Supplemental Questionnaire in the return envelope provided. Enclosed with your summons mail-out you will find an excuse form that you can use to submit your excuse in writing.

Your request must indicate the Juror Participant Number assigned to you. If you have any prior commitments such as trips, meetings, doctor’s appointments, etc. during the month you are summoned, you need to submit this information to the Court. A juror can check the status of their request by accessing our Jury Messaging System (see section on Excuse Request Status, below). You are not to assume your request has been granted. If a situation arises after you have submitted your completed Juror Information Form and Supplemental Questionnaire, you may fax your request to (210) 472-6581 or mail your request to:

Clerk, United States District Court
Attention: Jury Clerk
262 W. Nueva St.
San Antonio TX 78207

txwd_jury_sa@txwd.uscourts.gov

OR

you may also submit your excuse request on-line: Request Postponement or Excuse.

The Court will only entertain requests for excuses/postponements for emergency situations on the day you are directed to report. If the Court grants your request, you will not be reimbursed the attendance or mileage fee.

Jurors who fail to report for jury duty and who have not been excused by the Court may be served a Show Cause Order by a Deputy United States Marshal. Those jurors will be ordered to appear before the Court to show cause why they should not be held in contempt of the Jury Service and Selection Act. Contempt penalties range from a $1,000.00 fine, imprisoned not more than three (3) days, ordered to perform community service, or any combination thereof.

EXCUSE REQUEST STATUS:
The decision of the Court will be made available to you by accessing our Jury Messaging System at 888-587-9329 or on-line at Reporting Instructions. Please make sure you have your Participant Number available when accessing the message system. When an excuse request is submitted to our office, the Jury Messaging System will either state that your request has been granted or denied. Allow 3-5 business days before accessing the Jury Messaging System to check the status of your excuse request.

JUROR FEES:
A $50.00 daily attendance fee is paid for each day you report for jury duty, even if you are not selected to hear a case.

A prescribed rate per mile is paid for the distance traveled to and from a juror’s residence by the shortest practical route in going to and returning from the place of service. Please indicate the one-way mileage on the Juror Information Form.

Jurors who reside 70 or more miles from the courthouse are eligible to receive reimbursement for the exact amount that is detailed on their lodging receipt, up to $124, which is the maximum GSA lodging rate for San Antonio. If a juror elects lodging that is in excess of the GSA lodging rate, the juror will be responsible for the overage. Jurors incurring an overnight stay will also receive a Meal and Incidental Expense allowance of $64 for each day of travel, including the day the juror returns home. The use of online booking sites are discouraged since the court does not reimburse booking fees. If an on-line hotel booking service is used, the following two documents must be provided to the jury clerk: 1) Receipt from the on-line service and, 2) Receipt from the hotel detailing the nightly lodging rate and the time when the juror checked-in and checked-out.

COURTROOM DECORUM:
The following is a guideline for courtroom decorum which jurors are asked to observe:

1. Business Attire is appropriate dress for jury duty. Preferred dress for Male jurors is a coat/tie and slacks or dress slacks and dress shirt, no shorts or t-shirts, a collared shirt is acceptable for men and female jurors wear dresses or slacks, skirts and blouse. Jeans are not considered appropriate attire for jury duty.
2. Rise when addressing, or being addressed by the Judge.
3. No tobacco in any form at any time. No electronic cigarettes of any kind, (i.e. vapor, e-cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and etc.).
4. No propping of feet on tables and/or chairs.
5. No bottles, beverage containers, paper cups or food shall be brought into the Courtroom.
6. No gum chewing, reading of newspapers and magazines (except as part of evidence in a case).
7. Cell phones, iPads, laptops, etc. are permitted in the building, however, they must remain off, muted and put away.

CHANGE OF NAMES, ADDRESS, TELEPHONE NUMBER AND/OR EMPLOYMENT CHANGES:
A current mailing address is important and required so that your jury check can be delivered by the postal service. The U.S. Post Office will not forward jury checks.

Jurors who have a change of name, address, phone number and/or employment after they have submitted their Juror Information Form should submit these changes to the Jury Section as soon as possible. Be sure to indicate the Juror Participant Number with the change being submitted.

A current day-time phone number is also important in the event we need to contact you by telephone.

ATTENDANCE CERTIFICATES:
Jurors will be given an attendance certificate showing the date of service. When you serve on a trial, attendance certificates are issued at the end of the trial and are inclusive of the first day you reported until discharged by the Court. Some employers require this certificate.

If you have additional questions regarding your service to this Court, please feel free to call the Jury Department at (210) 472-6550, and either extension 5015 or extension 5025. Our toll free telephone number is 1-800-659-2497 or email at txwd_jury_sa@txwd.uscourts.gov