MONROE COUNTY — It’s May, so you could find a jury duty questionnaire in your mailbox. Annamarie Osment, Monroe County clerk and register of deeds, answers questions about jury questionnaires, jury summonses and local jury trials. She said jury service plays a vital role in the justice system.
“Serving on a jury is both a civic duty and an honor, helping ensure that due process is upheld in our courts,” Osment said.
What’s new in jury duty questionnaires?
A QR code.
“We now offer online submission of the questionnaire. We want people to know it is legitimate and using the QR code is safe,” Osment said. “We just implemented that this year in hopes that it would make submitting the questionnaire easier, especially for the younger generation that prefers doing everything electronically.”
Questionnaires may still be returned by mail in the postage-paid envelope. Questionnaires must be returned within 10 days.
Who gets jury duty questionnaires?
“Once a year, the Secretary of State compiles a list of citizens eligible to serve on a jury who posses a valid Michigan driver’s license or State Identification card,” according to the Monroe County Handbook for Trial Jurors.
“Our case management system is run by the State Court, and they receive the full list of driver’s license numbers and state IDs from the Secretary of State,” Osment said. “That list is run through the court management system, which randomly selects the list of jurors for us to use.”
How often does Monroe County mail out juror questionnaires?
Once a year.
“Every year in May, we send out the questionnaires for the next jury year, which goes from Nov. 1 of the current year to October of the next year,” Osment said.
How many will get questionnaires this May?
“9,000 questionnaires are going out in the mail in the next week or so. That is the same number we have been sending out for quite some time,” Osment said.
When will jury summonses be sent?
“All questionnaires are checked by our jury board to pull the qualified jurors to receive summonses,” Osment said. “The summonses will be going out monthly, between Nov. 1, 2025, and Oct. 1, 2026. Generally, you get the summons a month before you are required to serve, giving you time to make arrangements.”
How many summonses are sent out each year in Monroe County?
4,000 to 5,000, Osment said.
How many jury trials are typically held in Monroe County?
“Although many jury trials are scheduled, and we need enough jurors to fill those scheduled trials, a majority end up with plea agreements, sometimes at the ’11th hour,'” Osment said. “We generally have approximately 30 jury trials a year.”
Where will potential jurors serve?
“These jury pools serve Circuit Court, which includes Family/Probate Court as well as District Court,” Osment said.
How long is jury service in Monroe County?
One month, according to the Monroe County Handbook for Trial Jurors.
Who sets the jury fees?
“The jury fee and mileage are set by the legislature. It is nominal, but employers generally cover the difference,” Osment said.
Fees, according to the Handbook for Trial Jurors, begins at $15 plus milage for a half-day of service and goes up to $45 plus mileage for a full day of service. Mileage is paid at 20 cents a mile.
Where can I learn more about jury service?
Visit the Monroe County jury service webpage or call the Monroe County Clerk’s office at 734-240-7020.
View the Handbook for Trial Jurors here and watch jury orientation videos here.
— Contact reporter Suzanne Nolan Wisler at swisler@monroenews.com.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Your Monroe County jury duty questions, answered
Reporting by Suzanne Nolan Wisler, The Monroe News / The Monroe News
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