| If you receive a summons to report for duty,
remember LAST MINUTE CHANGES ARE NOT UNUSUAL in most lawsuits.
For this reason it is important that on the evening before you are to report
for duty, you call one of the following phone numbers for a recorded message
containing up to the minute information.
For Montgomery County, call Toll Free 1-877-424-7861 or Independence
620-330-1070. Chautauqua County call 620-725-5874.
Collect calls are accepted.
Answer all questions on the Juror Qualification Questionnaire
you received from the clerk in the mail and return it within 7 day of
receipt to the following address:
MONTGOMERY COUNTY:
District Court Clerk
Judicial Center Suite 201
300 E. Main St.
Independence, KS 67301
CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY:
District Court Clerk
P.O. Box 306
Chautauqua County Courthouse
215 N. Chautauqua
Sedan,
Kansas 67361
JURY DUTY SELECTION PROCESS
Citizens are selected randomly from the county voter
registration and driver license rolls, along with 750 others, for service in
the jury pool, from which, prospective jurors will be drawn for the next six
months. You will receive written notice, about a week to ten days
before your appearance day for jury duty, from the Clerk of the Court,
telling you where and when to report for duty. With that notice
the Clerk will enclose a Jury Guide designed to answer many frequently asked
questions. You will need to
appear only once or have three appearances cancelled for your service this
term to be complete.
For cases scheduled in Coffeyville jurors report for duty on the third floor of the
Coffeyville City Hall Building at 7th and Walnut. Parking is available in any unreserved space north of the building or any public parking available around City Hall.
For cases scheduled in Independence, jurors report for duty on the second floor of the Judicial Center at 5th and Main. Parking is available in any unreserved space or public parking around the Judicial Center primarily on the South side.
For cases scheduled in Sedan, jurors report for duty to the District
Clerks Office on the third floor of the Chautauqua County Courthouse at 215
North Chautauqua. Parking is available in any unreserved space or
public parking around the courthouse.
You will be paid $10 for each day you report for jury duty, and mileage at the state rate if you are required to report outside your hometown.
EXCUSED ABSENCES:
Requests to be excused or limit your jury service to certain dates must be directed to the Jury Administrator in writing within 72 hours of
receiving your questionnaire, unless extenuating circumstances exist. Compelling reasons must be given. Most trials last no more than 2 days. Jury duty fulfills one of
a citizen's most important responsibilities. The inconvenience and financial sacrifice that attend jury service is a small price to pay for the protection of our liberties. Normally, juries are composed of 6 or 12 people, on the belief that several persons of different and varied backgrounds and experiences will be better equipped to arrive at a fair verdict .
JUROR RESPONSIBILITIES
If
you are selected to serve please try and remember the following points.
Please be on time and occupy the same jury seat; listen carefully to the Judge, counsel and the witnesses; do not discuss the case with anyone or allow others to discuss the case with you until it is submitted to you for deliberation. Report any attempt to do so to the bailiff or judge; do not make any independent investigation, inquiry, or experiment of any matter at any time during the trial and finally do not listen to, or read media accounts of the trial. They are generally incomplete, or they may contain information that will not be admitted into evidence at trial.
THE TRIAL PROCESS
Selection as a juror begins when you are selected out of the jury pool. Out of those that report, a jury panel at least twice the number of final jurors is called to take seats in front of the bar. Those selected will
be questioned concerning their qualifications, a process known as voir dire. The purpose of the questions is not to embarrass or pry into your personal
business, but rather to help court and counsel obtain untainted, impartial jurors. Any panel member excused for cause is replaced
from the jury pool. At the conclusion of the questioning the attorneys
exercise preemptive challenges. If you are not selected it is no reflection upon you and none is intended. Those that remain will constitute the jury and they will hear the case.
At the beginning of the trial the judge will talk to you about your responsibilities and give you preliminary instructions on the law. The attorneys will then make their opening statements outlining what each side
expects the evidence will show. The plaintiff presents evidence first and the defendant follows.
After the evidence has been presented the judge will again instruct the jury
with the applicable law. The attorneys will then make closing arguments after which
the jury will retire to the jury room to deliberate. Deliberations should be conducted in a businesslike manner. First a presiding juror
is selected. The presiding juror's responsibility will be to speak for the jury in court, sign the verdict form and insure that the jury's discussions go forward in a sensible and orderly fashion and that each
juror has the opportunity to discuss the issues fully and fairly. To "deliberate" means to consult with one another with the goal being to reach an agreement.
JUROR CONDUCT
The attitude and conduct of the jurors at the outset
of your deliberations is of utmost importance. It is rarely helpful
for a juror to announce his or her opinion without consulting with
fellow jurors. It is natural however that differences of opinions will
arise. When they do, a juror should not only express such
opinions, but the reasons upon which they are based. Although, a juror
should not hesitate to change a vote, each juror should vote according to honest judgment,
applying the law contained in the instructions given by the judge, to
the facts found by that juror. If every juror is fair and reasonable a
verdict can almost always be reached.
Good jurors are individuals of sound judgment and
absolute honesty who possess a complete sense of fairness. A juror
should decide the facts and apply the law impartially, treat alike the rich
and the poor, men and women, corporations and individuals. A juror
should render justice without regard to race, color, or creed.
Remember,
only the evidence and testimony admitted into evidence by the judge in open
court are to be considered. The weight, or believability attributed to the evidence can be
judged by juror's individual and collective common sense and life experiences,
without doing anything to enlarge upon that evidence.
Finally, the Kansas judicial system consists of a
seven member Supreme Court, and an intermediate Court of Appeals consisting
of 13 members in panels of three. There are 31 judicial districts and Montgomery and Chautauqua counties
make up the 14th. Court is held in Independence, Coffeyville and Sedan by the four judges, Chief Judge
Canaday, District Judges Cullins and Gossard, and Magistrate Judge David Casement.
Your presence is a valuable and necessary service that is a vital part in our democratic process. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions feel free to contact :
In Montgomery County, contact Nancy Williams, Jury Clerk (620) 330-1070.
In Chautauqua County, contact Nancy Stephenson, Jury Clerk (620)725-5874.
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