18th Judicial District Court

​How was I selected?

• Jurors are selected from a randomized list of residents who are registered to vote in the county and/or have a Kansas driver’s license or a Kansas ID card.

​

​

What time do I need to arrive?

• Mandatory reporting time is 8:30 a.m. unless you have been instructed differently on the call-in line.

​

​

How long will I serve?

• All jury panels are called for a one-week period. If you are not selected as a juror during that week, your service will be concluded. If you are selected as a juror, your service will be over when the case is over. Although some cases last longer than one week, the vast majority of cases will average three or four days.

 

​

Eligibility / Disqualifications:

• Be 18 years of age

• Be a U.S. Citizen

• Be able to understand English

• Be a Sedgwick County resident

• Breastfeeding

• Has the court found you incompetent

• Felony conviction in the last 10 years

• Served as a juror in the last 12 months

​

 

What if you're not a citizen of the United States?

• Please provide a copy of your permanent resident card, passport, student visa, or work authorization card to the jury clerk. 

• You can email (sg.jury@kscourts.org), fax (316-914-5355), or bring a copy to the jury department to be released from the summons. If you email the document, we will send a confirmation stating you have been excused.  If you send a fax, please contact the jury clerk at 316-660-9101 to verify you have been excused. 

 

​

What if you're not a resident of Sedgwick County?

• Please provide a copy of an updated driver’s license, vehicle registration, or voter registration showing your new address.

• You can email (sg.jury@kscourts.org), fax (316-914-5355), or bring a copy to the jury department to be released from the summons. If you email the document, we will send a confirmation stating you have been excused.  If you send a fax, please contact the jury clerk at 316-660-9101 to verify you have been excused. 

 

​

Have you been found presently incompetent?

• Please contact the court at 316-660-9101 so that the clerk may verify a case is on file with our court.

​​

​

You have been convicted of a felony in the last 10 years?

• If you have been convicted of a felony in Kansas, please contact the jury clerk at (316) 660-9101.

• If you have been convicted of a felony in another state, you will need to send verification by email (sg.jury@kscourts.org), fax (316-914-5355), or bring a copy to the jury department to be released from the summons. If you email the document, we will send a confirmation stating you have been excused.  If you send a fax, please contact the jury clerk at 316-660-9101 to verify you have been excused. 

​

​

You are breastfeeding?

• Have your doctor fax a note stating you are breastfeeding.  This letter needs to include your name and juror number.

• The doctor can fax this letter to us at 316-914-5355.  Please contact the jury clerk at 316-660-9101 to verify that we have received this letter and have you excused from jury service. 

​

​​

You have health reasons? 

• If you have health reasons that make you incapable of serving on a jury, you will need to have your doctor send verification stating that your medical condition would prevent you from serving as a juror.

• They can email (sg.jury@kscourts.org), fax (316-914-5355), or you can bring a copy to the jury department to be released from the summons. If you email the document, we will send a confirmation stating you have been excused.  If the doctor sends a fax, please contact the jury clerk 316-660-9101 to verify you have been excused.

 

​

What if you fail to report for Jury Service?

• What happens if I have been summoned for jury service, but I just decide not to come in? You may be held in contempt of court and you can be fined for failing to respond to a jury service summons. We hope that you will reconsider. The jury system is an important part of democracy in America. Rather than relying solely upon state employees (judges) to decide the facts in a dispute, whether civil or criminal, our system of government relies upon a group of citizens chosen from the community to make those decisions. The jury system can only work well if jurors are chosen from a full cross-section of the people. Because of this, we work hard to make sure that segments of our community are not excluded from jury duty, whether through self-selection (i.e., failing to show up) or otherwise.

​​

​

Do you need a continuance of jury service?

• If jury service on the scheduled date would cause you temporary extraordinary or compelling personal hardship, your jury service can be changed to a later date.  Request for deferred jury service must be made before the date on your summons by calling the Jury Clerk at 316-660-9101.  Jury service may be rescheduled one time only.

 

​

Must I have special knowledge?

• For service as a juror, it is not expected or necessary that you have any special talents or training. The judge presiding in the trial will decide the law. You will decide the facts from the evidence presented in the case utilizing your experience and knowledge common to all persons in general. As a juror, you become an officer of the court, the judge of the facts - and determine the verdict in the case.

​​

 

What is the working schedule for jury service? 

• The hours of service are set by each judge with a break for lunch and recesses.  At times it becomes necessary to work a little late – to complete testimony of a witness from out of town to avoid a return the next day. However, the normal schedule is 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 

• During lunch you are permitted to leave the courthouse.  There are limited opportunities for food at and around the courthouse.  There is a Snack Zone open during very limited hours, vending machines, and at times food trucks around the courthouse.  In the evenings you will be permitted to return to your homes.  You may have read of cases where jurors are “sequestered” or kept together in the evening during a trial.  You do not need to worry about this.  Traditionally, we do not sequester juries, even during their deliberation on their verdict. 

​

​

Delays

• Sometimes there are delays before jurors are assigned to a court for trial. The parties have a legal right to settle their differences without a trial, and at times this may be done after the parties and lawyers come to court. Also, in some cases there are matters that must be taken up before trial, and this cannot be done until the actual day of trial. In either case, jurors usually remain in the assembly room rather than the courtroom. You may want to bring a book, magazine or needlework** in case the delay is longer than usual. We will inform you as soon as it is determined that you are not needed. Wireless internet access is available.

  • **Needlework - security does not allow pointed scissors or knitting needles. Crochet hooks are okay. Anything deemed dangerous will be confiscated and returned upon departure.

• During the trial there are conferences on matters of law between the judge and the lawyers. These are part of the trial and are usually done outside the presence of the jury.

​

​

Courtroom Decorum

• Whenever the judge enters the courtroom, all persons in attendance are required to rise, and court is opened formally by the bailiff of the court. Besides the judge and bailiff, the staff includes the certified shorthand reporter who records all the proceedings of the trial.

• When a case is ready to be tried with a jury, the judge will announce the names of the parties and introduce the lawyers. The required number of jurors will then be called to sit in the jury box, and trial begins with the jury selection process.

​

​

Courtroom Attire

• Business attire is recommended.

• Uniforms are not permitted. Uniforms include, but are not limited to; firefighters, security, military, law enforcement, nursing scrubs, EMT and other easily recognized uniforms.

• Shorts and tank tops are not acceptable attire. Because temperatures vary in courtrooms and in the assembly room, it is recommended to dress in layers.

​

 

Conduct of Jurors

• The judge will inform you of your function and conduct as jurors. Generally, you will be instructed that during the trial you as jurors must not express any opinion about the case nor are you to discuss any part of the case among yourselves or with anyone else, nor have anyone discuss the case with you or in your presence. The reason here is obvious: you are bound to render a verdict based only upon the evidence presented during the trial, which the judge has determined proper and admissible for you to consider.

• You will notice that the parties and their lawyers may appear to be aloof and unfriendly. They are not permitted to fraternize with jurors. This is intended to avoid even the appearance of any impropriety. Your contacts about the case must be made only with the judge and the bailiff.

• All that will be expected of you is to be open-minded, fair, and objective, and determine the facts of the case and the verdict based upon the evidence presented, the judge's instructions, and your common sense.

​​

 

Jury Fees

• You will receive a statutory jury fee of $10 per day, along with a small meal allowance, and mileage for each day you appear for jury service. You will receive your jury service check within two weeks of serving as a juror.

 

​

Does my employer have to pay me during Jury service?

• No, there is no Kansas law requiring employers to pay their employees while they are serving on a jury. However, they are required by Kansas law to allow you to serve on jury duty. Some employers do have policies under which employees are paid their normal salary even while serving on a jury. You will need to check with your employer regarding their policy.​

 

 

​​Call-in Jurors:

• If you received a call-in jury summons, you do not need to report to the courthouse unless you are instructed.  When you call the phone number on your summons, you will reach a RECORDING that will tell you:

1. That you should report for jury service and will give you a date and time.

2. That you should call again at a later time.

3. That you are permanently excused.

• The judges have adopted a call-in system in order to avoid the time and expense involved in calling jurors when they are not needed. 

• If you were not required to come in, your name will be placed back in the jury pool, and you may be summoned at a late date.

 

​

Procedure of a Jury Trial

Jury Selection

• Jurors are called to the jury box and sworn to answer question concerning their qualifications to serve.

• Challenges to jurors.

• Jurors sworn.

The Trial

• Opening statements

• Presentation of the evidence

• Closing argument by the lawyers

• Jury retires to deliberate

Deliberation of Jury

• Jurors select foreperson

• Discuss evidence and instructions

• Verdict reached

• Verdict read in open court

• Jury discharged

​

​

Have you served in the last year?

• If you have served in the last year, you may be excused.  You may contact the jury clerk at 316-660-9101 to verify the last service date.  

 

​

Are you a stay-at-home parent?

• If you have children age of six and under, you may be excused.  Please contact the jury clerk at 316-660-9101.

 

​

Are you over the age of 70?

• If you are unable to serve due to personal health or the health of a spouse no medical statement is required.  Please contact the jury clerk at 316-660-9101. 

 

​

Are you a college student?

• College students attending school outside the state may have the registrar’s office send a certificate of enrollment to be excused.

• College students within the state may be continued to the next available recess or break from classes.

• Students within the state, but outside of the local area (over 30 minutes from Wichita) may have the registrar’s office send a certificate of enrollment to be excused. 

• You can email (sg.jury@kscourts.org), fax (316-914-5355), or bring a copy to the jury department to be released from the summons. If you email the document, we will send a confirmation stating you have been excused.  If you send a fax, please contact the jury clerk 316-660-9101 to verify you have been excused

​

​

In Conclusion...

Your duty as a juror requires you to be prompt in your attendance, attentive to your duties, faithful to your oath, considerate and tolerant of your fellow jurors, sound and deliberate in your evaluation, firm but not stubborn in your convictions, and faithful to your trust. From your service as a juror, you will experience a sense of deep satisfaction for having fulfilled your obligation to our community.

​