Jury notice
If you are aged between 18 and 70 years-old can serve on a jury. If you are selected by computer to serve, you will receive a letter called a Jury Notice. This explains that your name is on the list of potential jurors for that year and accompanying this will be a form of return.
There are, however, several grounds for excusing yourself from having to serve on a jury and details of these categories are listed on your Jury Notice or can be found on the Court Service website.
Jury summons
If you receive a ‘Jury Summons’ you will be told where you will do your jury service and the date and time your service begins. You will usually have between three to five weeks between the Summons letter arriving and your first day in court. The letter also provides details for the Customer Service Centre that will help you with any queries that you might have about your jury service.
There may, however, be certain times when it isn’t possible for a you to serve at the time you have been summonsed. If you think there is a reason that prevents you from serving at that time, you will need to contact the Customer Service Centre and ask to be ‘deferred so that you can serve at a later date, or excused from jury service altogether. The reasons you might be deferred or excused and how to apply for deferral or excusal, as they are known, are provided in part two of your Jury Summons.
Additional information will also accompany your Jury Summons including details of financial allowances and general information on the courthouse you will be attending.