Juror FAQs

Regular Juror Summons

Regular Jury Duty is for two days unless the jury selection takes longer, or you are selected for a trial which is longer than two days. If you are not selected, your service is complete after two days, and you have no further obligation to the summons. If selected, you will be required to serve until the completion of the trial, or excusal by the judge.

Grand Juror Summons

Grand Jury selection is conducted online rather than in person. The court selects jurors to serve on the Grand Jury and the term of service is one month. The jury selection will be conducted online with all jurors participating remotely by video conferencing. Once a panel is selected, jurors will serve in person at the Multnomah County Central Courthouse.

Special Juror Summons

Special Jury Duty orientation usually lasts one day unless you are selected. Special set trials can last two or more weeks. If you are not selected, your service is complete, and you have no further obligation to the summons. If selected, you will be required to serve until the completion of the trial, or excusal by the judge.

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

Jurors with a Regular Juror Summons should 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.

Jurors with Grand Juror Summons will report online by 8:30am on the Start Date.

Jurors with Special Juror Summons should follow 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.

This is for those who have received a Grand Juror Summons. Grand Jury selection will be conducted online. If, after selection, you are chosen, you will appear at the courthouse in person for Jury Duty. If selected, you will serve for a term of one month.

Please follow these steps:

• Complete the online Juror Response Form here​.
• If you are requesting a deferral or an excusal this can be done using the Juror Response Form after submitting the initial questionnaire. All deferrals will be to a Regular Juror Summons which is a two day, or one trial, in person Jury Duty.
• If you are unable to 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 safe, quiet space to participate from for the day.
• You will appear by video for the jury selection process.
• You can use a laptop/computer, tablet, iPad, or smart phone with both audio and video capabilities.
  
• If you do not have any of these things, you can come to the courthouse in person and attend using our technology and space. Please email MUL.JuryDuty@ojd.state.or.us or call 971-274-0575 to set this up with a court clerk.

After responding that you will attend the online jury selection, please follow these steps:

1. View these online documents for instructions on downloading and testing the Webex application:
• Join Webex with your Computer or Smartphone
• Webex Test and Get Ready!
2. Watch these two jury orientation videos
• Justice For All
• Oregon Implicit Bias Training
3. Review this document for what to expect during your online jury selection: Webex | Virtual Jury Service

Here are some helpful tips for attending jury selection on Webex: Online Jury Selection Webex Tips​

You will receive an email the day before your Start Date that includes the Webex link for the online jury selection meeting, your juror panel number, and what time to log into the meeting. If you have not responded to your Grand Juror Summons by the afternoon before your Start Date you will not receive log in instructions and your Jury Duty must be deferred.

Expect to attend the online jury selection Webex meeting for 4-5 hours on the Start Date.

It is important that you complete the above steps before the Start Date on your summons!

Please do not come to the Multnomah County Circuit Courthouse unless directed to by a court clerk. Thank you for your participation!

First, please see the Jury Schedule page for detailed information about your Special Juror Summons, including length of trial. Each special jury trial has specific information listed under the Jury Duty Start Date.

Second, please complete the Juror Response Form here. If you are requesting a deferral or an excusal this can be done using the Juror Response Form after submitting the initial questionnaire. All deferrals will be to a Regular Juror Summons which is a two day, or one trial, in person Jury Duty.

Special Jury Duty orientation lasts one day unless you are selected to return for jury selection. Special Set trials can last two or more weeks. If you are not selected to come back, your service is complete, and you have no further obligation to the summons. If selected, you will be required to serve until the completion of the trial, or excusal by the judge.

If you are unable to report on your Start Date, you may request that your service be delayed up to one year from your original Start Date. The court may allow deferrals (postponements) for good cause.

If you request a deferral to a specific date for your Jury Duty, the service date must be a date for which there is a need for jurors in the same courthouse location. You will be assigned a new date for service as close as possible to the date you have requested. All deferrals will be to a Regular Juror Summons which is a two day, or one trial, in person Jury Duty.

Requests for a first 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. Deferral requests must be received by the court no later than one week before your service date.

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.

If you are 70 years or older, and ask to be excused, the court must excuse you from Jury Duty. If you want to serve as a juror, you may serve.

If you are breast feeding a child, and ask to be excused, the court must excuse you from Jury Duty. If you want to be excused for this reason, you must make the request in writing. If you want to serve as a juror, you may serve.

The court may excuse you from Jury Duty if:

1. Jury Duty causes you, your family, or your employer undue hardship or extreme inconvenience; or
2. You are the sole caregiver for a child or other dependent, you attend personally to the dependent during the court's normal hours of operation, and you are unable to afford daycare or 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. Your request must be received by the court no later than one week before your service date.

Downtown Courthouse Parking

No parking is provided. If you drive, parking is your responsibility. We encourage you to take public transportation. Parking downtown is expensive and scarce. The court does not validate parking.

East County Courthouse Parking Facilities

If you drive, parking is your responsibility. We encourage you to take public transportation. There is a parking lot at the East County Courthouse, but the court does not guarantee there will be an available parking spot.

Security at the courthouse is provided by the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office through its Facility Security Unit. There are also Enforcement and Corrections Sheriff Deputies staffing the courthouse for security and protection.

Security equipment used in the courthouse includes magnetometers (walk-through metal detectors), x-ray scanners, and hand-held metal detectors. If you have a pacemaker, tell the security officer about it before you enter the metal detector. The sheriff's staff does physical pat-downs on persons with pacemakers. The security screening process creates long lines of people waiting to enter the courthouse during peak hours. The courthouse and the Jury Room opens at 7:30AM.

The following documents are provided by the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office:

• Downtown Courthouse Security
• East County Courthouse Security

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.

Currently, the juror daily fee rate is:

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

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

1. Take TriMet, and be reimbursed $5.60 for your fare; or
2. $.20 per mile round trip; or
3. Drive to a TriMet Park and Ride. You may 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.

If you forgot to respond online to your Regular or Special Juror Summons, you do not need to call the court. You can just appear on your Start Date.

If you forgot to respond to your Grand Jury Summons, please email or call the court to be deferred.

Documents

Please bring your summons postcard or your JuryPass email if you received it. If you have misplaced your summons, please still report as directed.

Food

The court does not pay for lunch. You may bring your lunch or a snack with you. At the Multnomah County Central Courthouse there are refrigerators and microwave ovens 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 may 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.

Jurors with Disabilities General Information

• The court will provide ADA accommodation upon request of jurors with disabilities. If you have a disability, please tell the jury coordinator what accommodations you need, so we can remove any barriers to your effective service as a juror. See our Accessibility page for ADA Coordinator information.
• For parking with a disabled parking permit see Disability Parking.
• Any person who has a hearing disability and needs an accommodation to participate in Jury Duty may notify the court of the disability and the need for sign interpreters or assistive hearing devices, by email, phone, TTD, fax, or letter. Your request must be received by the court no later than one week before your Start Date.
• It is common for people who do not usually consider themselves as having a hearing disability to have trouble hearing everyone clearly in some of the courtrooms. If this happens to you, please tell the judge or clerk. Every courtroom is equipped with assistive listening devices.
  

Jurors with Disabilities Specific Information about Facilities

Both the Multnomah Central Courthouse and the East County Courthouse were designed and constructed to be compliant with state and federal law on accessibility. Jurors with mobility impairments should find both courthouses to be fully accessible.

Individuals with Disabilities that Prevent Effective Service as a Juror

In rare instances, individuals with severe disabilities may receive a juror summons. If the disability is so severe as to render the juror unable to ever serve effectively as a juror, the court does provide a process for such individuals to be permanently excused from jury service. To process a permanent excusal request, our jury coordinator's office must receive a letter from a health care provider who is familiar with the disability or medical condition prior to the date on the summons. The letter must convey that the condition will entirely prevent the individual from ever being able to serve effectively as a juror. Such letters can be provided to our Jury Coordinator's office by fax, email, or letter.

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​

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.