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. 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. You will walk through a metal detector and your handbags, briefcases, backpacks and containers may be X-rayed. Weapons of any type will not be permitted into any court facility. 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. All weapons are prohibited and it is a felony to bring them into court buildings. Please allow extra time for this screening process.
Often students, teachers, physicians and small business owners and others with unusual schedules think that they are exempt from serving on jury duty. We cannot exempt or excuse you; however you are eligible for a onetime postponement for up to 6 months.
Rescheduling Jury Service
Excuse or postponement request must be received by Jury Services prior to your summons date.
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.
Payment for Service
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.
Directions, Parking, and Public Transportation
- San Luis Obispo Criminal Branch
- San Luis Obispo Civil Branch
- San Luis Obispo Branch - Veterans Memorial
- Paso Robles Branch
Parking Instructions
Free juror parking is only available at the parking structure at 842 Palm Street across from the Palm Theatre. DO NOT PAY FOR PARKING. Jury Services will provide a coupon code with instructions when you appear.
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.
Place your juror parking card (located on the top of your summons) on your dashboard - the summons date and juror badge number must visible. You do not need to put money in the meter.
The summons date must be a current date. If it is not a current date, go into Jury Services and request an updated form for your dash. This updated form must be placed on your dash so you do not 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).
Wireless Internet Access
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.