When the completed Juror Qualification questionnaires are received, they are reviewed to determine if the individual meets the qualifications to serve.  Once a juror is determined to be qualified, their data is entered into the computer and they remain eligible to be summoned for a period of 18 months and can be called to serve any time within that time frame.  Any person who is not summoned within 18 months will be purged from the system and will be eligible to receive another qualification questionnaire in the future.

In order to be qualified as a Genesee County Juror you must have the qualifications listed below:

1.   Be a citizen of the United States and a resident of Genesee County.

2.   Be at least eighteen years of age.

3.   Not have been convicted of a felony.    

4.   Be able to understand and communicate in the English language.

Any person who has completed service as a juror in any court of the Unified Court System or in a Federal Court will not be required to serve again as a juror in any court of the Unified Court System for a period of 2 - 6 years, depending on when and where they served.

LOCATION OF OFFICE
The Commissioner of Jurors Office is located on the second floor of the Genesee County Courts Facility, Room 253. The address for the Commissioner of Jurors Office is 1 West Main St., Room 253, Batavia NY 14020.

The phone number is (585) 344-2550, ext. 2223. Normal business hours are 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (The office is closed on all recognized New York State Holidays).

LENGTH OF SERVICE
Trial Jurors: the average length of a jury trial held in Genesee County is 3 - 5 days, and the selection process takes an average of one day.  Some trials may last longer, some shorter.  The Judge or the attorneys will inform you of the expected length of the trial.  If you are selected to serve as a juror on the trial, your service will continue for the length of the trial.  Court normally operates from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with a lunch recess and short morning and afternoon breaks.  On the first reporting day, because of the orientation prior to beginning your work in court, jurors may report earlier than 9:00 a.m., and it is not unusual for the selection process to last until about 5:30 p.m.  All reporting jurors should plan to be in court for a full day.  If you are advised to report at 11:30 a.m. or thereafter, there will not be a lunch hour those days, and jurors should plan accordingly.  If you cannot be available during the 5 days immediately following your initial summons date, you should request a postponement to another term.  There may be unavoidable periods of waiting while on jury duty.  You may bring a book or other quiet activity to help pass the time.

Grand Jurors in Genesee County, unless excused in court, serve on a preset schedule of
2 - 3 days per month over a period of 3 months.  Further explanation is given to Grand Jurors on their summons. 

All Jurors: Effective in 2004, once a juror completes good service, he or she is ineligible to be called again for a minimum period of 6 years from the completion of service.  At the expiration of such time, jurors who have served previously may receive a new notice, but only if they are randomly selected from the designated source lists.  Jurors may request to reduce this ineligibility period, making it possible to serve more frequently by completing a very brief form.  Town and village jurors who actually report to court for a trial are ineligible for 2 years.  Please contact the Commissioner of Jurors office for more information. 

POSTPONEMENT / EXCUSE
All requests for postponement or excuse must be made by the individual who received the summons, not by their employer, and must be received by the Commissioner of Jurors more than ONE week prior to the scheduled reporting date.

Postponements:
If you were not previously postponed, the law permits ONE postponement to an available jury term of your choice within six months.  To obtain a postponement, you may call our automated phone number at 1-800-449-2819.  This number requires you to use a touch tone phone and is available 24 hours a day.  If you prefer to speak to a person in the jury office, or if this is not your first postponement, please call 344-2550 Ext. 2223 during business hours. 

a.  Previously Postponed Jurors:
Jurors may be eligible to receive a second postponement if jury service would create a hardship.  Call the jury office so that we can discuss your request and advise you of what documentation you must submit. 

b.  Excusal:
Some jurors may need to be excused.  You may request to be excused if (1) you are unable to serve as a juror because of undue hardship or extreme inconvenience to yourself, a person under your care, or the public, or if you have a mental or physical condition that causes you to be incapable of performing jury service, and (2) you will not be able to serve even if granted a postponement.  See examples below: 

c.  Students:
If a summons was received for a family member who is away at school, the juror can be postponed up to six months as stated above.  If they will not be available within 6 months, a letter should be sent to the Commissioner of Jurors, stating where the student attends school, and when they will be available to serve. 

d.  Deceased:
If a questionnaire/summons was received for a family member who is deceased, please return the form returned to the Commissioner of Jurors office with a written statement that the individual is deceased, so that the record can be properly updated. 

Medical Excuse or Disability:
If you have a disability and need a reasonable accommodation to allow you to serve, the court will try to provide the services or auxiliary aids that you need.  The kinds of auxiliary aids that are generally available include assistive listening devices and sign language interpreters. 

Genesee County Court has limited handicapped parking adjacent to our facility and is equipped with an elevator and assistive listening devices.  Sign language interpreters can be made available upon advance notice.  Contact the office immediately if you will need a sign language interpreter. 

In order to be excused due to medical disability jurors must submit a statement by an appropriately licensed health care provider, detailing a diagnosis of the disability, the expected duration of the disability, and a conclusion that the juror is not capable of performing jury service due to the disability. 

Any juror who has a mental or physical condition associated with advanced age, which prevents them from being able to serve as a juror, must submit a written statement of the condition and the juror’s age.  A health care provider's statement is not required in this circumstance.

If you are a TDD or TTY user and need to communicate with the Commissioner of Jurors you may call the relay service at 1-800-662-1220 and they will be able to place the call.  

Financial Hardship Excuse:
If you believe that jury service will cause a serious financial hardship for you, contact the Commissioner of Jurors office and request a financial hardship excuse request form.  This will be mailed to you for completion.

JURY CALL IN MESSAGE 
All summoned trial jurors who have not requested a postponement or excuse are on telephone standby for the week.  This means that you are responsible to CALL and follow the instructions for your individual juror call in # on the recorded message at 344-2550  Ext. 2296 starting at 5:00 p.m. on the last business day before your service is to begin. If your date to report is a Monday, your time to call begins at 5:00 p.m. on the preceding Friday. You may call at any time over the weekend, 24 hours a day,  until 8:00 a.m. the morning of your service.  When you are first connected to 344-2550 you may be told that the building is closed, this is normal.  Proceed by pressing 2296.The message will indicate, by juror number, which jurors must appear and the date and time they are needed or other instructions.   If you are not instructed to report, you should continue your normal routine.  Jurors will only be paid for days directed to report. Occasionally, a trial may settle or be canceled and in such case the message will tell you that reporting is not necessary.

Current reporting information is also available by clicking on JUROR NUMBERS here or the link on the home page.

Summoned Grand Jurors do not use the call in system. All Grand Jurors are to report as summoned.

REPORTING FOR SERVICE
If you have been selected to report for jury service, and were sent an official juror summons with specific instructions regarding your service, be sure to read it carefully and follow all the important details that it contains. Jurors should bring the entire summons to turn in when they report, and a ball point pen is needed for orientation.

Notify your employer right away when you receive a jury summons. By law an employer is prohibited from subjecting an employee to penalties or termination due to jury service - as long as the employee notifies the employer upon receipt of the jury summons.

Cellular phones, laptop computers and pagers are allowed in the building but cannot be used in courtrooms or during orientation.  Devices with the ability to record audio, still images or video, are not permitted in court facilities, except that the prohibition on cameras does not apply to cameras that are auxiliary features on cell phones. Stand alone cameras are still prohibited in courthouses. All cell phones must be turned off during all court proceedings and during juror orientation. Camera functions on phones cannot be used at any time inside the building.

Please dress and conduct yourself in a manner that is respectful of the courts and your fellow jurors.  Clothing should be clean, of modest nature and comfortable. No shorts, cutoffs, tank tops or halter tops. Men are not permitted to wear hats in the courtroom.

Reporting jurors will sign in upon arrival each day. They will be given written materials and will complete a questionnaire which is designed to assist counsel and the court in selecting fair and impartial jurors.

After all the jurors have arrived, before going into a courtroom, the Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner will give a brief orientation, including a movie, of what to expect during jury selection and trial.

PARKING
Limited parking and parking reserved for persons with disabilities is available at the Courts Facility.  It is advisable to arrive early.  Overflow parking is available in surrounding parking areas. Please be sure to park in marked parking spots only. Vehicles parked illegally may be ticketed or towed.

MEALS
Lunch and dinner is furnished to deliberating jurors. All other meals are your own responsibility. You may bring a snack or lunch if you desire.  A refrigerator and coffee machine are provided. There are vending machines in the building and there are restaurants in the downtown area.

JURY PAY
In some circumstances, an employer may lawfully withhold wages during jury service.  The question of wages for time away from work to serve as a juror should be addressed to the employer as soon as possible after the juror receives a summons to report.  All reporting jurors are required to provide information to the Commissioner of Jurors regarding their employer’s payment policy.  In order for any juror to receive the per diem payment, all required paperwork must be clearly and completely filled out. 

Pursuant to Judiciary Law §519, if you are employed and your employer employs more than 10 people, your employer is responsible for jury pay of $40.00 per day, up to three days.  The obligation of the employer to pay only applies if the juror is serving on a regular scheduled work day.  If a juror's daily wage is less than $40.00, the state will pay the difference between the juror's wage and the $40.00 fee.  Most other individuals, including unemployed, retired or individuals whose employer has 10 or fewer employees and who does not pay full wages for employees serving as a juror, will be paid by New York State check for your jury service. 

Jurors can waive their entitlement to the juror fee for the purpose of making that allowance available to fund improvements in jury related facilities for the county in which the juror served. If you wish to waive your fee, please advise jury personnel when you report.

There is no additional reimbursement to jurors for parking, meals or transportation costs. Checks are issued from Albany and will take several weeks to process.

Verification of your attendance at jury service will be provided when you report for service.

For further information regarding your right to be absent from employment for jury service and employer obligations for payment of wages please go to the Employer/Employee Information section of www.nyjuror.gov or the Information for Employers section of www.wnyjury.com.

EMERGENCY  
Any emergency closing of the court will be announced on WBEN 930 AM radio.  If you are unable to report on a scheduled jury day due to an emergency situation, call the Commissioner of Juror’s office at 344-2550, ext. 2223.