Jury Service
Jury Duty - An Honored Service
The right to a trial by jury is a privilege that applies to both criminal and civil cases and is recognized as the foundation of the American court system, guaranteed by both U.S. and California Constitutions.
General Jury Service Information
Jury service is mandatory. Prospective juror names are obtained from voter registration and DMV records. By law, prospective jurors are randomly chosen and because of this, we regret that we cannot accept volunteers for jury duty. Normally, service may be required as often as once per year. Service lasts from one day to the length of the trial, starting at 8:00am and ending at 5:00pm.
What to do when you receive a Jury Summons?
If you have been summoned to appear for jury duty please read the summons in its entirety.
- Visit the Jury Web Portal to complete the juror details.
- To request a postponement, excusal or disqualification, please visit the Jury Web Portal. You may also call (805)706-3610 to request a postponement. If you do not have access to a computer, please submit your request in writing to Jury Services.
- Follow the telephone standby instructions on your summons. Check Online or by calling (805)706-3610 after 5:30pm the night prior to your scheduled date to confirm if you are required to report. If scheduled for a Monday you may call between 5:30 p.m. Friday and 7:00 a.m. Monday. Listen carefully for the category containing your group number. The message will confirm or change your time of appearance or put you on telephone stand-by. If you are put on telephone stand-by you will be asked to call again at a specific time for another message. This message may ask you to appear within one hour, so please be prepared. You may remain on telephone standby and be instructed to call the recorded message daily for a maximum of five (5) working days. Please remember to check online or call, it may save you an unnecessary trip to the courthouse.
-
If the recorded message instructs you to appear, please bring your summons with you and report to:
San Luis Obispo Superior Court
1050 Monterey Street Room 224
San Luis Obispo, CA, 93408 USAThe Jury Assembly Room is located in the Courthouse Annex Building on Palm Street. Upon entering the building, take the elevator down one level (to Floor 2). Follow the signs to the Jury Assembly room, Number 224.
See additional information about reporting for jury duty below.
Additional Information
Excuse or postponement request must be received by Jury Services prior to your summons date.
To request a postponement, excusal or disqualification, please visit the Jury Web Portal. You may also call (805)706-3610 to request a postponement. If you do not have access to a computer, please submit your request in writing to Jury Services.
Jury service may be postponed one time for up to 6 months. There are no permanent excuses to jury service except verified medical illness. If approved for postponement you will receive a new summons for that date or the closest one available approximately 4 weeks before your new appearance date.
Business attire is suggested. No tank tops, shorts, bare midriffs, or bare feet are permitted in the courtroom.
When entering any court facility all persons are subject to screening through a security device. We recommend that you pack as lightly as possible. You will walk through a metal detector and your items will be X-rayed. All weapons are prohibited and it is a felony to bring them into court buildings, including items such as knives (including pocket knives), guns, stun guns, pepper spray, mace, scissors, knitting needles, corkscrews, or any item that may be used as a weapon are not permitted. Please allow extra time for this screening process.
Parking Instructions
Free juror parking is only available at the parking structure at the 919 Palm and 871 Marsh Street parking structures. DO NOT PAY FOR PARKING. Jury Services will provide validation upon check in.
Street Parking
You may park for free on the street - in a two hour or more space - only if you cannot use the garage because:
-
you're in an oversized vehicle,
-
you rode a motorcycle,
-
or the parking garage is full.
These are the only reasons you will be allowed to park on the street, and only in a two hour or more space. If one of these situations does not apply to you, you may receive a parking ticket.
Bus Service Information
Within San Luis Obispo city limits, call (805) 541-2877.
Outside city limits, contact Central Coast Area Transit (CCAT).
Pursuant to section 230a of the Labor Code, your employer cannot prevent you from serving as a juror and is not required to pay you while on jury duty. However, the Superior Court will pay you $15.00 per day starting with your second day of service, plus mileage.
- If the recorded message instructs you to report to the courthouse for jury duty and, after reporting, you are excused from service that day; your jury service is complete.
- If you are assigned to a courtroom your service is required until you are excused from jury selection.
- If you are selected as a sworn juror or alternate you must serve for the entire trial, however long.
San Luis Obispo jurors are now provided with free wireless Internet access during jury duty. Jurors will need a laptop with a wireless network card to access the Internet from the jury assembly room.
- The SLO jury assembly room is wireless 802.11g-compliant. This means it should work with any 802.11g-compliant device, including but not limited to Macintosh and Windows computers equipped with an 802.11g-compliant wireless networking card; we cannot guarantee any manufacturer's compatibility.
- We have not implemented encryption on our network for simplicity and performance.
- The SSID is "SLO-PUBLIC" (without the quotes). Most wireless networking software will auto-detect the SSID, but if you have software that does not detect the SSID automatically, you will need this information.
- If you cannot connect to our network with this information, you should contact your wireless equipment vendor for support.