What to Know
To learn more about jury service in
Maine please visit:
www.courts.maine.gov/juror
YOUR GUIDE TO
JURY SERVICE
IN THE MAINE
COURTS
Maine Judicial Branch
Administrative Office of the Courts
Length of jury service. The length of your jury
service varies depending on how many cases
are scheduled for trial in a particular month.
Service is usually no longer than 1 or 2 days
for jury selection and an additional 2-3 days for
each jury trial, if you are picked for a jury. The
judge will explain the expected time commit-
ment in more detail to you and other jurors.
Juror pay. Maine law sets the pay that jurors
receive at $15 per day plus $.45 per mile for
travel reimbursement.
ADA Accommodation. The Judicial Branch
complies with the Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA) and by Maine law does not discrim-
inate against jurors based on disability. If you
need a reasonable accommodation, please
email
or call
(207) 822-0718 when you receive a Summons
for Jury Service. If you have a hearing
disability, dial 711.
If you are requesting a
reasonable accommodation, to be
excused, or to postpone your
service:
To help the court plan, please submit your
written request for an accommodation, to be
excused, or to postpone jury service as soon as
possible. If you ask to be excused or postponed
from jury service on the day you are scheduled
to report, your request will probably not be
granted.
Receiving the
Summons for Jury
Service
After returning the questionnaire, if eligible,
you will receive:
• A Welcome Letter from the clerk with
court-specific information and tips to
improve your jury service experience.
• A Summons for Jury Service telling you
when and where to report.
• A Confidential Court Card to fill out and
bring with you on your first day.
• A Juror Number Card.
If you have questions, contact the clerk’s
office. Courts have clerks who help
coordinate jury service.
AN OVERVIEW
OF JURY
SERVICE IN
MAINE COURTS
Serving as a juror is one of
the most important and
rewarding civic duties a citizen
can perform. Jury service is key
to preserving the fundamental
right to trial by a jury of one’s
peers. This right is guaranteed by
the U.S. and Maine Constitutions.
Asking to be Excused
or Postponing Service
The court has the authority to excuse or
postpone jury service for those who are not
exempt from serving. Service can be excused
or postponed if you show that serving would be
an 1) undue (excessive) hardship or 2) extreme
inconvenience; 3) public necessity; or 4) you
are unable to perform jury service because of a
physical or mental disability.
Being excused from jury service. Excusals are
granted for serious reasons only. If you ask
to be excused for medical reasons, you must
provide a note from your doctor. Please note:
your employer cannot provide an excuse for jury
service and may not penalize you because you
have been summonsed for jury service.
Postponing jury service. If you want to postpone
service, you must submit a request in writing
that includes why and when you can serve in
the future. The court will do its best to limit
any extreme inconvenience, financial, or other
hardship because of a conflict or obligation that
cannot be changed.
EXEMPTIONS FROM
SERVING
The qualification questionnaire has questions
about exemptions from serving. You are not
required to serve if:
• You are 80 years or older.
• You are a member of the armed forces
on active duty.
• You previously served as a juror within
5 years of the date of the summons or
have served three times in total.
If you are exempt from serving, you still have
the option to serve if you wish.
Why Have I Been
Contacted?
You have been contacted because your name
was selected at random by the Maine Bureau
of Motor Vehicles from a list of residents in
your county. The first step in the process is
to determine if you are eligible to serve by
answering the questions on the Juror
Qualification Questionnaire and returning it
to the clerk’s office.
If you do not currently live in the county list-
ed on the questionnaire you received, make
note of this on the Questionnaire. You can
only serve in the county in which you live.
