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JUROR FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Q. HOW AM I SELECTED FOR JURY DUTY? A. Your name was randomly selected from the voters registration list for the State of Mississippi. Subsequently, you are mailed a qualification questionnaire to complete and return to the Court. After the Court determines that you are qualified to serve, your name is entered into a pool and you may be randomly summoned either as a grand or petit juror. Q. WHAT IS A PETIT JURY? A. A Petit jury is a trial jury for both civil and criminal cases. The Petit jury listens to the evidence offered during a trial, and returns a verdict. A verdict in a civil case may be a finding for the plaintiff or the defendant. A verdict in a criminal case finds the defendant involved guilty or not guilty. Q. WHAT IS A GRAND JURY? A. A Grand jury does not determine guilt or innocence, but whether there is probable cause to believe that a crime has been committed. The evidence is normally presented only by an attorney for the government. The grand jury must determine from this evidence whether a person should have formal charges filed by the government. If the grand jury finds probable cause, then it will return a written statement of the charges, called an indictment. Grand jurors sit on a panel of 16 to 23 jurors and generally serve one to three days per month for 18 months. Grand jury terms may be extended if necessary. For further information, please Introduction to Grand Jury Service. Q. WHAT SHOULD I WEAR FOR JURY DUTY? A. In deference to the Court, please dress neatly. Q. HOW LONG WILL I BE ON CALL? A. You will be "on call" for a one month period. Although you are on call, the number of times you will be required to report for jury selection may vary depending on the needs of the Court. Jurors instructed to report are rotated within the panel to help minimize appearance dates. If you are selected for a trial that exceeds the one month service period, you will be required to serve until the completion of that trial. Q. CAN I GET A POSTPONEMENT OR BE PERMANENTLY EXCUSED FROM JURY SERVICE? A. The Court realizes that from time to time jurors may need to request a temporary absence from jury service. These absences are generally for appointments with a physician, scheduled vacation time, business obligations, etc. The Court will make every effort to accommodate temporary absences. Absences do not constitute a valid reason for being excused from the entire term. When requesting a temporary absence, you must make the request in writing a minimum of five days in advance of the date(s) you need to be excused. If you know the dates you need to be excused, you should include them on the back of the Juror Information Form or send your request by FAX to (601) 965-4033. You will receive notification of the Judges decision by mail. Q. WHAT WILL I BE PAID FOR SERVING ON A JURY? A. The U.S. District Court will pay you an attendance fee of $40.00 per day (unless you are a federal government employee), plus travel expenses of 50.5 cents per mile round trip from your home. The attendance payment is taxable income and should be declared. The travel payment is not taxable. Jurors who earn in excess of $600.00 in attendance fees in one calendar year will receive a form 1099. Q. MAY I RECEIVE PROOF OF MY JURY SERVICE? A. After reporting for service, you will receive a certificate of attendance showing the dates you served. WHAT IF I FAIL TO APPEAR FOR JURY SERVICE? Title 28 U.S.C. Section 1866 (g) states that persons who are summoned to appear for Federal Jury Service and fail to appear may then be ordered to show cause why they should not be held in contempt of court for noncompliance with the court summons. Persons then failing to appear or to show cause for nonappearance may be fined not more than $100.00 or imprisoned for not more than three days, or both. Q. IS MY JOB PROTECTED WHILE I SERVE JURY DUTY? A. Your job is protected under Title 28 U.S.C.A. Section 1875,
which reads, in part: b. Any employer who violates the provision of this section:
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