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Juror FAQs


Frequently Asked Questions

The first thing you should do upon receiving​​​ a jury summons is to look at the Start Date. The Start Date on your summons postcard is the day you should plan on reporting.

Next, respond to the court online using the Juror Response ​Form​ to let the court know if you plan to:

  • Show up for Jury Duty on the date you were summoned, or
  • ​​You want to request a deferral (postponement), or
  • You want to request an excusal.

Please note that you must fill out the initial questionnaire on the Juror Response Form before requesting a deferral or an excusal. If you are unable to respond online, you may call the Jury Coordinator, fax, email, or mail a letter.​



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Regular Juror Summons 

Report no later than 8:00am on the Start Date. You should plan on being at the courthouse for both days of Regular Jury Duty until 5:00pm.

Grand Juror Summons 

Report online by 8:30am on the Start Date.

Special Juror Summons 

Please follow the instructions listed on the Jury Schedule page.

The Central Courthouse doors open at 7:30am. Please allow enough time to get through security to make it to the Jury Room by 8:00am. The East County Courthouse doors open at 8:00am.
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Regular Juror Summons

Regular Jury Duty is for two days unless the jury selection takes longer, or you are chosen for a trial. Some trials are longer than two days. If you are not selected, your service is finished after two days. You don’t need to do anything more. If you are selected, you must serve until the trial is finished, or you are excused by the judge.​


Grand Juror Summons

Grand Jury selection is held online rather than in person. Grand Jurors chosen to be on the Grand Jury will attend in person, every weekday, for four weeks. For this jury selection, everyone joins a video meeting from home (remotely). After the jurors are selected, they are given instructions to come in person at the Multnomah County Central Courthouse.​


Special Juror Summons

Special Jury Summons orientation usually lasts one day unless you are chosen to continue further in the process. Special set trials can last two or more weeks. If you are not chosen on the orientation day, your service is finished. You don’t need to do anything more. If you are selected, your service is over when the trial ends, or the judge excuses you.

Please visit the  Jury Schedule page for more details about your Special Juror Summons. Each special jury trial has specific information listed under the Jury Duty Start Date.​

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Grand Jury is different from Regular Jury or Special Jury service. Grand Jury selection happens online and lasts about 4-5 hours. After selection, if you  are chosen, you will attend your jury duty in person at the  Central Courthouse. The service term lasts four weeks. 

Please follow these steps:​

Complete the online Juror Response Form.

If you need to defer your service (delay it) or be excused, you need to complete the questionnaire first. Grand Jury deferrals are scheduled for Regular Juror service which is a two day, or one trial, jury service. Jurors in these groups attend in person.

If you can’t complete the online response, you can email the court at MUL.JuryDuty@ojd.state.or.us​; or call the court at 971-274-0575.

Here are things to consider when responding:

• You will need a reliable internet connection.
• You will need a quiet space, free from distractions, while you’re in the meeting.
• Both video and audio on your device are required. 
• You can use a laptop/computer, tablet, iPad, or smart phone with both audio and video capabilities.
If you can’t meet the requirements listed above, you can come to the courthouse in person to attend and use our technology and space. To schedule your attendance at the courthouse, please email MUL.JuryDuty@ojd.state.or.us or call 971-274-0575.

After completing the online juror response form, the next steps are:​

  1. The links below are some instructions on downloading and testing the Webex application (video meeting program):
  1. Watch these two jury orientation videos:
  1. Review this document for what to expect during your online jury selection: 
You will get an email the afternoon before your start date that includes the following:
  • Webex link for the online jury selection meeting .
  • Your juror panel number.
  • The time, and other details, to log into the meeting. 
If you haven’t finished your online response to the Grand Juror Summons by the afternoon before your start date, you won’t get the log-in instructions, and your jury duty will need to be deferred. Please do not come to the Multnomah County Circuit Courthouse unless you have been instructed to by a jury staff person. Thank you for your participation!​​
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You can review the Jury Schedule age for detailed information about your Special Juror Summons, which includes how long the trial will last. Check your Start Date as each special jury trial is different. 

Next, complete the Juror Response Form​. After the questionnaire is complete, you can use the Juror Response Form to ask for a deferral (delay) or to ask to be excused. Anyone who needs a deferral is moved to a Regular Juror Summons group which is a two-day, or one trial, jury duty service where everyone attends in person.

Special Jury Duty orientation is scheduled for one day unless you are selected to return for jury selection. These types of trials can last two or more weeks. If you aren’t selected to come back, your service is complete, and there’s nothing more you need to do. If you are selected, you will serve your jury service until the trial is complete, or you are excused by the judge.

If you are unable to report on your Start Date, you may ask to delay your service for up to one year from your original Start Date. 

First requests for a deferral may be made online through the Juror Response Form​, or by email, phone, fax or letter. You must submit the initial questionnaire before you can request a deferral. 


To request an additional deferral of your jury service, please contact the Jury Room for assistance. Deferral requests beyond the first one cannot be processed online.

The court doesn’t need jurors every day. For the Central (downtown) Courthouse, jurors are needed most Mondays and Wednesdays. Remember, the service is for two days. For the East County Courthouse, jurors are primarily scheduled on Wednesdays. 


Note: All deferrals will be to Regular Juror Summons which is an in person, two-day, jury service. ​

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Those who automatically qualify for an excusal:

  • If you are 70 years of age or older. 
  • If you are breast feeding a child.

Other excusal requests: 


The court may excuse you from Jury Duty if:
  • Jury Duty causes you, your family, or your employer undue hardship or extreme inconvenience; or
  • ​You are the sole caregiver for a child or other dependent, and you are unable to make other arrangements for the care of the dependent.
If you request to be excused under these standards, the court will weigh carefully your individual circumstances against the public's need for jurors.

Requests to be excused may be made online, or by email, phone, fax, or letter. Please send your request as soon as possible. 



Downtown Courthouse Parking

Service location: 1200 SW 1st Ave., Portland, OR 97204
The court does not validate or pay for your parking. There are public parking garages near the courthouse and there is very limited street parking. If you drive, parking is your responsibility. Many people take public transportation, use rideshare programs, or bike, for jury service. 

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East County Courthouse Parking Facilities

Service location: 18480 SE Stark St., Portland, OR 97233
There is a small parking lot at the East County Courthouse, where you can park at no charge, but the court does not guarantee there will be an available parking spot. If you drive, parking is your responsibility. Public transportation or rideshare programs are other options. 

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A unit of the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office manages the building security at the courthouse. Their staff are called Facility Security Officers (FSO). There are also other Multnomah County Sheriff deputies staffing the courthouse for security and protection every day.​

The courthouse has an airport-like security area when you enter the building. These items are not allowed and will not be held for you: 
  • Firearms
  • Knives, including pocketknives and multi-tools
  • Scissors
  • Pepper spray
  • Glassware of any type
  • Straight knitting needles - fixed circular knitting needles are allowed​
Some of the building security equipment used includes: 
  • Walk-through metal detectors (magnetometers)
  • X-ray scanners for bags and belongings
  • Hand-held metal detectors
Anyone with a pacemaker should let security know. They will do a physical pat-down instead of using the walk-through machine.

The courthouse opens to the public at 7:30AM. The lines may get long during peak hours, thank you for your patience.

Multnomah County Sheriff's Office security information by court location:
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Juror pay is set by the Oregon Legislature. You may also find more information in the OSB Handbook​ for Jurors provided by the Oregon State bar in multiple languages.

Service pays​

Currently, the juror daily fee rate is:

  • Days 1 and 2, $10 per day,
  • Day 3 and beyond, $25 per day.

Travel pays ​

Juror travel expense for each day of service will be compensated in one of three ways:

  • Bus/Max: Take ​TriMet, and be reimbursed $5.60 for your fare; or
  • Drive: $.20 per mile round trip; or
  • Combination: Drive to a TriMet Park and Ride. You will be reimbursed for your mileage in driving to the Park and Ride, and the expense of the TriMet tickets.​

Payments are sent by mail and can take up to four weeks to reach you. Jurors who respond online to their summons choose their compensation options in the questionnaire.

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Regular Jury Service or Special Jury Service:​

If you forgot to respond online to your Regular or Special Juror Summons, you do not need to call the court. You can just attend on your Start Date. We can check you in with your juror postcard, or your name, on the day you arrive.

Grand Jury Service:

If you forgot to respond to your Grand Juror Summons, please email or call the court to be deferred. Grand Jury selection is conducted online, over a video meeting. Your service will be scheduled to a different day for a Regular jury service term.​

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Documents

Please bring your summons postcard for check-in. If you have misplaced your summons, please still report as directed. For those who were summoned for a Monday summons start date, and completed the online response , you will receive a JuryPass email the Friday afternoon before your start date. This email contains a QR code that is scanned when you arrive for check in.​

Food

The court does not pay for lunch. You can bring your lunch or a snack with you. At the Multnomah County Central Courthouse there are refrigerators and microwaves in the Jury Assembly Room. There is no cafeteria in the courthouse. There is a snack shop near the Jury Assembly Room with a variety of foods and beverages for purchase. At the East County Courthouse there are refrigerators and microwave ovens. There is no cafeteria at the East County Courthouse.​

What to wear

Please dress comfortably (suits and ties or dresses are not required) but also have respect for the important role you have as a juror. As a juror you are the judge of the facts. Jurors often spend many hours together in close quarters. Jurors should be respectful of their fellow jurors by reporting for service without strong​ perfume or cologne.

​What to bring

You can bring work or reading material, or a personal electronic device you can listen to with headphones.​

Cell phones and computers

You may bring your cell phone and laptop computer to the courthouse. They must be placed on the X-ray scanner when you go through security. The Jury Assembly Room has Wi-Fi available. When you go into a courtroom, make sure your cell phone is turned off (not just silent or vibrate). The judge or their staff will inform you of any rules around technology use in the courtroom.​

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Jurors with Disabilities General Information

If you have a disability, please request an accommodation by visiting our  Accessibility page for ADA Coordinator information. The court will provide ADA accommodation upon request.

If you need a map of places to park with a disabled parking permit see Disability Parking.​

Hearing Disabilities

To request sign interpreters (ASL), real time captioning (RTC), or assisted listening devices, you must let the court know by email, phone, TTD, fax, or letter. The request must be received by the court no later than one week before your scheduled start date.
Some people have trouble hearing everyone clearly in some of the courtrooms. If this happens to you, please tell the judge or clerk. Every courtroom has assistive listening devices.


Mobility Disabilities Related to Facilities​

Both the Multnomah Central Courthouse and the East County Courthouse comply with state and federal laws on ADA mobility accessibility. Both locations are fully accessible. 

Severe Disabilities that Prevent Serving as a Juror

People with severe disabilities may receive summons for jury duty. If the disability means the person will not ever be able to serve for jury duty, the court has a process to permanently excuse them. To ask for permanent excusal from jury service, you must:
  • Get a letter from a health care provider regarding the situation before the service date on the summons. 
  • The letter must state that the condition will prevent the individual from ever being able to serve as a juror. 
  • Send the letter to our Jury Coordinator's office by email, regular mail or fax.

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There are different answers depending on where you are in your jury duty service. Please see below:

Report Location: Jury Assembly Room (green juror badge)

Please do not come if you are sick. You can contact us by email Mul.JuryDuty@ojd.state.or.us, or phone 971-274-0575 to let us know you are sick, and we can defer you. If you arrive late, please make sure to check in with jury staff when you enter. If you are going to be late by more than thirty minutes, please call during our phone hours beginning at 8:30am for next steps.

Report Location: Courtroom (pink number badge)

Contact the trial department to let them know you are sick or running late. If you were not given contact information for the clerk, please call the Jury Room (971-274-0575) and we will let the courtroom know.

If you aren’t sure of your reporting location – a call during phone hours is the best option.

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You can access your attendance letter from the Juror Response Form after your service is complete. From the Home screen select Print Letters then select Attendance Letter for Employee. You may need to enable pop ups for the download to appear.

Please note that if you haven't submitted the initial questionnaire on the response form you will need to submit this before you are directed to the Home screen. ​


You can contact the Jury Coordinator for service at either the Downtown or East County Courthouses at:

​By Email

MUL.JuryDuty@ojd.state.or.us​

By Mail

Multnomah County Central Courthouse
Jury Coordinator
1200 SW First Avenue
Portland, OR 97204

​By Phone

971-274-0575
Phone Hours 8:30am-10:30am and 1:30pm-4:00pm Monday through Friday

​By Fax

503-276-0905

​For information on the accommodation for disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), please see the Accessibility page.

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Juror Videos

Additional Resources