Those people who have been selected and are sitting as jurors will be notified via telephone if the trial is canceled due to weather. Persons who are supposed to report for selection should call the number listed on your summons. The message will be updated if selection is canceled.

Family may call the jury office in the event of an emergency. Jury staff will notify you immediately.

There are restaurants within walking distance of the building or you may bring a lunch with you. Lunch is not provided by the Court.

Upon check in you will be given a work slip or attendance verification for your employer. If you are selected as a juror you will receive proof of each day's attendance on your last reporting day, at the conclusion of the trial. You may also access the E-Juror portion of our website and print an attendance letter daily.

Please use good judgment and dress conservatively. Appropriate dress is required. Shorts, halter/tank tops or T-shirts with slogans are not permitted. As courtrooms tend to be cool you may want to bring a sweater or light jacket with you.

Click on the link below for the city your Summons requests you to report to:

  Grand Rapids

  Lansing

  Kalamazoo

  Marquette

Normally Court is in session from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Only in extremely rare cases will a jury be sequestered.

You will have received a list of area hotels with your summons. You must contact the hotel of your choice to make reservations. You will be reimbursed the subsistence allowance. Current Subsistence Rates (effective October 1, 2014):

  Grand Rapids Divisional Office: $147.00

  Kalamazoo Divisional Office: $140.00

  Lansing Divisional Office: $142.00

  Marquette Divisional Office: $129.00

You will be reimbursed the subsistence rate for each night you stay in a hotel. If you are financially unable to pay for a hotel in advance please contact the court to make other arrangements. Some local hotels will bill the court directly in the event of a financial hardship.

Please call the jury hotline number (800) 553-6050. You will need your nine digit participant number when calling. This number can be found on the front of your summons to the right of your name and address.

You are protected by Federal Statue, 28 U.S.C. § 1875, from being discharged, intimidated or coerced by your permanent employer because of your attendance for service at this Court. (a) No employer shall discharge, threaten to discharge, intimidate, or coerce any permanent employee by reason of such employee's jury service, or the attendance or scheduled attendance in connection with such service, in any court of the United States. (b) Any employer who violates the provisions of this section - (1) shall be liable for damages for any loss of wages or other benefits suffered by an employee by reason of such violation; (2) may be enjoined from further violations of this section and ordered to provide other appropriate relief, including but not limited to the reinstatement of any employee discharged by reason of his jury service; and (3) shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $5,000 for each violation as to each employee and may be ordered to perform community service

Juror attendance fees are considered “other income” by the IRS and must be reported. A 1099 form will be mailed to any/all jurors who earn at least $600.00 in attendance fees (the $40.00 daily allowance). This does not include reimbursement for travel or subsistence.

During the months of November through March if you live over 50 miles from the courthouse and during the months of April through October and live over 75 miles from the courthouse you are entitled to receive a subsistence fee for each night you are staying in a hotel.

If you are staying with friends or family the subsistence allowance is $61.00 ($56.00 in Kalamazoo and $55.00 in Marquette) for each night you are staying with them.

To qualify for the subsistence allowance you must first call (800) 553-6050 and be instructed to appear. If you fail to phone ahead and be instructed to appear you will not receive payment.

You will be asked to provide a hotel receipt upon check in.

Current Subsistence Rates (effective October 1, 2020):

  Grand Rapids Divisional Office: $175.00

  Kalamazoo Divisional Office: $160.00

  Lansing Divisional Office: $162.00

  Marquette Divisional Office: $151.00

You will be reimbursed the subsistence rate for each night you stay in a hotel. If you are financially unable to pay for a hotel in advance please contact the court to make other arrangements. Some local hotels will bill the court directly in the event of a financial hardship.

Jury service in a state/county court does not exempt you from serving in federal court. If you have served on a Federal petit/grand jury within two years you may be excused. You must write a letter giving us the information regarding your previous federal jury service.

Requests to be excused are generally processed the day they arrive at the courthouse. All excuse requests are sent to a District Judge, or Magistrate Judge, for decision. The jury department will notify you by email, if an email address was provided, of the judge's decision. If the Court does not have an email address you will be notified via first class mail. You may also check your status by calling (800) 553-6050. Enter your nine digit participant number for your current status. You must continue to call as instructed for reporting information until you have received notification that you have been excused.

Southern Division at Grand Rapids:  Antrim, Barry, Benzie, Charlevoix, Clinton, Eaton, Emmet, Grand Traverse, Ingham, Ionia, Kalkaska, Kent, Lake, Leelanau, Manistee, Mason, Mecosta, Missaukee, Montcalm, Muskegon, Newaygo, Oceana, Osceola, Ottawa, Wexford
 
Southern Division at Kalamazoo:  Allegan, Berrien, Branch, Calhoun, Cass, Hillsdale, Kalamazoo, St. Joseph, Van Buren 
 
Southern Division at Lansing:  Jurors may occasionally be drawn from Grand Rapids counties to report to Lansing for jury selection.
 
Northern Division at Marquette (includes entire Upper Peninsula):  Alger, Baraga, Chippewa, Delta, Dickinson, Gogebic, Houghton, Iron, Keweenaw, Luce, Mackinac, Marquette, Menominee, Ontonagon, Schoolcraft.

This court does not defer teachers to the summer months as we would have only teachers in the jury pools during that time. If you are a teacher you must serve during the term specified on your summons or you may request to be deferred to a less critical time during the school year.

The powers and functions of the federal grand jury differ from those of the federal trial jury, which is called the “petit” jury. The petit jury listens to evidence offered by the prosecution and the defense (if it chooses to offer any) during a criminal trial and returns a verdict of guilty or not guilty. The grand jury, on the other hand, does not determine guilt or innocence, but only whether there is probable cause to believe that a crime was committed and that a specific person or persons committed it. If the grand jury finds probable cause to exist, then it will return a written statement of the charges called an “indictment”. After that the accused may go to trial.

If you elect to send the paper forms mailed to you with your summons you need to return both the qualification questionnair and the supplimental questionnaire.

Not necessarily. The court calls only the number of people needed for each selection. Therefore, you must always call the (800) number listed on your summons prior to reporting.