Jury Duty

Why Your Participation Matters

Whether or not you are selected to serve on a jury, your participation is critical to one of the most fundamental principles of our free society - the right to a jury trial. Your participation as a juror is essential to our common law system of justice. Our system affords all persons going to trial the opportunity to have the facts of their cases determined by a jury of their peers. The Judges of the Ninth Judicial Circuit thank you in advance for your service. We hope you find your jury service to be an interesting and positive experience.

If you have recently received a summons, please select the County below where you are to report. In order to complete your Juror Questionnaire online, you will need to enter your badge number found in red on your Jury Summons.

Term of Service

When summoned for jury service, you will appear for the length of one trial or one day. The majority of jurors complete their service in one day. If selected to serve on a trial, the length of service is generally three days. We reserve the right to have jurors "on call"

Failure to Appear

If you fail to appear as a Juror, a letter will be mailed to you directing you to contact the Jury Services Department to reschedule your jury service date within 72 hours of receipt of the letter. In Orange County, you may contact the Jury Services Department via email at Jury@ocnjcc.org. Please include your name, badge number, and a date within the next four weeks when you will be available to serve, If you prefer to contact the Jury Services Department via phone, please call (407) 836-2206 between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. In Osceola County, you may contact the Jury Services Department via email at osceolajury@ocnjcc.org, or if you prefer to contact the Jury Services Department via phone, please call (407) 742-2423 between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Please note Jurors do not normally report on Fridays. Pursuant to section 40.23 of the Florida Statutes, any person who is duly summoned to attend as a Juror in any court and who fails to attend without any sufficient excuse shall pay a fine not to exceed $100.00. In addition to the fine, you may also face contempt proceedings which could result in the imposition of community service or other sanctions, including jail time.

Limited English Speakers (LES)

If you receive a summons to report for jury service and you are a limited English speaker, you will still need to report to the courthouse as instructed by your jury summons. Jury staff does not have the authority to excuse you from your jury service. If you come accompanied by a family member on your reporting date, that person will not be able to enter the courthouse due to COVID-19 restrictions. If you are placed on a panel and sent to a courtroom, the judge will inquire whether any jurors have issues understanding the English language and the judge will determine whether you can be excused from your jury service. If you are summoned in the future and a judge has previously excused you from jury service due to limited English understanding, you will still need to report for jury service. A judge must make a determination each time a juror is summoned whether they can be excused based on language issues.

Personas que no dominan el ingles

Si usted recibe una citación judicial para servir como jurado y no domina bien el inglés, deberá personarse ante el tribunal en conformidad con dicha citación. Sépase que el personal del departamento de jurados no dispone de la autoridad para eximirle de su obligación. Si el día que le corresponde comparecer ante el tribunal le acompaña un pariente, no se le permitirá a dicho familiar entrar en el juzgado. En el momento que sea convocado y dirigido a la sala que le corresponda, el juez le preguntará al jurado potencial si hay alguien entre ellos que no entiende el idioma inglés y determinará si dicha persona será eximida de prestar servicio como jurado. Aun si un juez le haya eximido previamente de tener que prestar servicio como jurado, Ud. tendrá que volver a comparecer si recibiese un nuevo citatorio. Cada vez que Ud. reciba un citatorio para servir como jurado, sepa que será el juez quien decidirá si se le eximirá o no de dicha obligación por no entender el idioma.

Compensation

You will be compensated $15.00 per day for the first three days of service if you are unemployed or your employer does not pay you your regular wage. If your employer pays you your regular wage, you will not be compensated for the first three days of service. On the fourth day and beyond, all jurors receive $30.00 per day compensation. Sorry, but there is no reimbursement for mileage.

Employer Information

In Orange & Osceola Counties, the term of jury service is one day or the length of one trial. Jurors are expected to report for service on their assigned date.

If an individual is a member or an alternate member of a jury panel, his or her term of service will end when the trial reaches a verdict or the deliberation stage is concluded. If an individual is not selected for a case or in voir dire proceedings by the end of the day then his/her service will have been concluded. A form certifying the number of days a juror performed jury service will be furnished to the juror upon request. State law does not require employers to compensate employees who are absent because of jury service. Many employers do, however, have jury-leave policies that provide compensation to employees for the time they are needed at court for jury service. It is important to note that employers may not take any punitive action against an employee while they are summoned to serve as a juror.

Jury Services
Orange County
Office: 180
Phone: 407.836.2206
Fax: 407.836.2346
Osceola County
Office: 1100
Phone: 407.742.2423
Fax: 407.742.2630
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Security

Please note, the following items will be prohibited from coming into the courthouse:

  • Aerosol cans
  • Alcohol
  • Ammunition
  • Billie club
  • Body spray (over 4 oz)
  • Bug bombs or spray
  • Chains over 12"
  • Chemical gas
  • Clay
  • Crochet hooks
  • Drugs
  • Explosives
  • Firearms
  • Glass containers (over 4 oz)
  • Handcuff key
  • Hair sticks
  • Knitting needles
  • Knives of any type/size
  • Kubaton sticks of any kind
  • Lighters
  • Mace
  • Medallions over 2"
  • Metal forks
  • Metal knuckles
  • Metal nail files
  • Metal picks
  • Oversized belt buckles
  • Paints
  • Pepper spray
  • Rat tail combs
  • Razors or box cutters
  • Sharp point scissors
  • Sling shot
  • Stun gun
  • Tape measure
  • Tear gas
  • Throwing stars
  • Tools & tape measures
  • Tweezers

Any and all other destructive devices and additional items not listed, considered dangerous by the security officials may be confiscated.

Firearm Restrictions

On April 3, 2023, Governor Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 543, which allows Floridians to carry concealed weapons without a government-issued permit. However, pursuant to Chapter 790 of the Florida Statutes, possession of weapons, firearms, and hazardous materials remains RESTRICTED in the courthouses of the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida. This includes the Orange County Office of the State Attorney and the Orange County Office of the Public Defender.

As the buildings are designated as Secure Facilities, anyone entering is subject to search of their person. Any person found possessing a weapon, firearm, or hazardous material of any kind will be denied access to the building unless the weapon, firearm, or hazardous material is surrendered to the proper authorities.

For more information regarding the restriction of weapons, firearms, and hazardous materials in the courthouses of the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida, please read Administrative Order No. 07-95-51-05.