Frequently Asked Questions

In Baltimore City, if you are selected, you are required to serve for the length of one trial. Most trials last two or three days; however some trials may take longer. The trial day usually ends at 5 p.m. If you are not selected for a trial, you are dismissed from jury service at the end of the day on which you are summoned. There may be occasions when the jury selection process lasts longer than one day and then you are required to attend a second day. You can be called once a year for jury service.

In Baltimore City, you are paid $30 a day for jury service. There are also parking and lunch discounts available at participating businesses. Click here to find out more.

There are a number of parking garages in the vicinity of the Clarence Mitchell Courthouse. Be sure you do not park at a meter or in a garage that closes early. There are also several parking facilities near the court buildings that offer discounted parking, please click here to determine participating garages. Jurors will need to present a validated jury summons and juror badge at the time of payment for these participating parking garages. You should keep the summons, but leave the juror badge with the parking attendant.

Bikes – A bike rack is located on the Calvert Street side of the Clarence M Mitchell, Jr. Court House. Jurors must not attached bikes to sign posts, utility poles, or to any Court House steps.  Please use the bike on Calvert Street.  The Court is not responsible for any stolen or damaged property.

While the Circuit Court is working to establish a system to care for young children and elderly adults in the future, at the current time we do not provide these services.

Call the Jury Commissioner at (410) 333-3775, explain your situation or have a medical provider complete a medical form for excusal. The form is available here or can be requested by speaking with a Jury Clerk at (410) 333-3775. If possible, the Jury Division’s Office will select a mutually acceptable date for you to complete your jury service at that time. If you are able to serve but require some form of accommodation, please let the Jury Commissioner know and the Office will try to accommodate your needs. (e.g., you may require frequent breaks, use of a lactation room, a need to take medication, etc.) For nursing mothers, if you are exclusively breastfeeding, please complete a medical form, referenced above, for a 12-month temporary excusal.

Several rooms are available for your use while waiting to be called to a courtroom for jury selection. In some rooms, movies are shown during the day. In other rooms, you may use battery-operated laptop computers. A third room is available if you need to do work that require quiet. You are also allowed to bring a cellular telephone with you while on jury service but it must be turned off and used only for out-going calls. You can bring your lunch with you; however you will be excused from the waiting rooms at lunch time and may leave the building to obtain lunch at one of the many restaurants located in the downtown area. Bathroom facilities and various food machines are available in the jury rooms for your use. Smoking is not permitted.

For Baltimore City residents that are over the age of 70 jury service is optional. If you are over 70 and decide you do not wish to be considered for jury selection, you must contact the Jury Commissioner's Office and let them know.

Before jury selection begins, the litigants are told your name, your age, your occupation, the highest level of education you achieved and your spouse's occupation. At jury selection, additional questions are asked to determine if you can be fair to both sides if you are selected to serve on the jury.

A grand Juror sits for a four month term as part of the Grand Jury, which is made up of 23 people. A member of the grand jury determines whether there is a probable cause to charge someone with a crime. A Grand Jury also can conduct its own investigations. A petit juror sits, listens to evidence in a courtroom and determines the facts in a particular case.

Proper Dress is required. Uniform type attire (e.g., medical, law enforcement, military, etc.) should not be worn for jury service. Abbreviated clothing such as shorts, muscle shirts, halter tops, bare midriff, etc., are not acceptable court attire.

The Circuit Court for Baltimore City offers a lactation room in each courthouse for nursing or pumping mothers; this room provides a private, clean space for nursing or pumping mothers, with access to a refrigerator for storage. The lactation room is accessible to jurors at any time throughout the entirety of their jury service. To access the lactation room in the Mitchell Courthouse, please see a Jury Clerk in room 240M; to access the lactation room in the Cummings Courthouse, please call (410) 396-5188 and report to the Administrative Office on the 2nd floor, suite 200C.