Jury Duty - Home

Information for Jurors During COVID-19 Pandemic

Eligibility

All U.S. citizens who are over the age of 18 and a resident of the county that issued the jury summons are eligible to serve. Those who are ineligible to serve are:

Not a resident of the county that issued the summons
Not a citizen of the United States
Prior service within two years for a Federal or Circuit Court jury
Under the age of 18
Currently serving a term in jail or imprisonment due to a felony conviction

*If you have a qualifying conviction or sentence, you are not eligible to be a grand juror or a juror in a criminal action, but you are eligible to serve as a juror in civil cases.

Juror Information

Welcome to Jury Duty for the Columbia County Circuit Court. Your service as a juror is one of the most important things you will do in participating in our system of government and ensuring justice in our community. We hope to make your experience as rewarding as possible and we thank you for your willingness to take the time to serve your community. All persons chosen for jury duty are selected at random from combined lists of registered voters and DMV records.

Term of Service

Your term of service will be for two (2) months.

Deferring Service

If you are unable to serve as a Juror for your term, you may request to be deferred to another time. Return the form and note an alternative time for you to serve, sixty or more days out and not more than one year from the date of your original summons. You may be deferred only once.

Jury Orientation

Jury orientation is held at 8:00 A.M. on the date indicated on the Jury Summons. The orientation will be held in courtroom 351, located on the 3rd floor of the courthouse annex. It will last approximately one (1) hour. During the orientation, you will receive additional information about being a juror.

Requests to be Excused

If you believe that serving as a Juror would pose a hardship for you, you may request to be excused. Please provide complete information on the Juror Response form in order for our office to determine whether or not to excuse you. The Court will weigh the basis for your excuse against its need for jurors. The Court may deny a request for excuse and require you to serve or defer your jury duty to a later date. If you are over 70 years of age, you may be excused upon request either by mail, email, or telephone communication. All other requests must be in writing.

If you are seeking to be excused because of medical conditions, please provide a doctor’s certification regarding your medical condition. Other reasons for seeking to be excused can include: having moved out of state or to another county; full time student; non-citizen of the United States; active duty in the Armed Services; breast-feeding a new born baby; and prior service as a juror.

panel of jurors

Reporting

Jurors are to report to the Columbia County Courthouse at 230 Strand Street, Saint Helens, OR 97051

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Juror Resources

Additional links for Jurors in Columbia County:

Contact Jury Coordinator

Email: Columbia.Jury@ojd.state.or.us
Phone: 503.397.2327 ext. 24024