Baltimore Basics

Ah, so you got the dreaded jury duty summons in the mail, and you are not sure how this all works. Fear not, we are here to help take the mystery out of the jury duty experience! 

Baltimore City’s jury duty website (baltimorecitycourt.org) actually has a lot of thorough information, clearly presented, so that should be your first stop. 

This article is meant to provide some additional tips from what I have learned over many, many years of going to jury duty. Learn from my experience, but always the check official sources for the important information and rules – especially in COVID times, when the rules are constantly changing. 

The whole jury duty process might feel chaotic to you at first, but it’s actually a pretty well organized and smooth operation. So, let’s get started. I’ve broken it down into four steps:

1. The Jury Summons
2. Know When to Go
3. Jury Duty Day
4. Juror Selection

Note that the descriptions in this article are based entirely on my own experience, and I am not a lawyer or legal professional of any kind!

The Jury Summons

The court gets its juror names through some magical combination of voter registrations and motor vehicle registrations. It took them seven years to find me and put me on their list, but boy once they find you, they are like pitbulls on a bully stick with your info. You can expect to be called about once per year in Baltimore City for one day or one trial – that means if by the end of the day you don’t get selected for a trial, you are free to go home; if you get selected for a trial, you sit on that trial for as long as it takes. 

Unfortunately, unlike in other locations where you are off the hook for longer if you actually serve on a jury, serving on a jury in Baltimore City doesn’t really buy you any time, as it only ensures you will not have to go to jury duty if you have served within the past year, which is about how often they call you anyway. I did hear that if you serve on a jury that lasts for more than 5 days, you get excused for three years. 

The first thing you should do when you get that Jury Summons envelope is follow all the instructions – it’s relatively straightforward! And DO NOT throw away your summons – you will need it!

You are required to complete the Juror Qualification Form within 10 days of receiving the summons to ensure you meet the requirements to be a juror. You can complete the qualification form either online or by completing and returning the included form (they provide the envelope but you need to provide the stamp). If you forget to respond, they will send you a postcard reminding you (don’t ask me how I know…), laced with all kinds of threats of fines and imprisonment. So just get the form done asap, before it moves to the bottom of your mail pile and you forget to do it.

You can delay jury duty once without anyone really asking any questions by going through the online form (there is probably a paper option too, but hey it’s the 21^st century, do it online!). It allows you to pick a new date within the next 2-3 months. But once you pick that new date you are pretty much locked in. If you do pick a new date, you will get a new jury summons by mail and you will have to go through the questionnaire again. 

Know When to Go

At 5pm one business day before your big jury duty day, you must either call or go online to see if your number is being called (i.e. you have to show up to jury duty) or if you are excused (whoo hoo!). I highly highly recommend going online to check for your number as the phone option tells you one thousand rules and very important pieces of information before telling you the numbers that are being called (I hear you can hit 2 after the recording starts to skip the instructions and go directly to the jury selection numbers. That said, if it is your first time going to jury duty, it would be worthwhile to hear all the rules.)

May it please the court, I have had my number called every.single.time, and I have been called into a courtroom for voir dire (more on that later) almost every single time. Perhaps you will be more fortunate. The first thing you need to know is which numbers are called on which days.

For your benefit and enlightenment, for the past few months (July-November 2021) I have been keeping track of which numbers are called on which days. Although past performance is not an indicator of future results, I leave these insights here so you can look at your number and evaluate your odds. TL;DR if you have jury duty on Wednesday, you are pretty likely to be called in!

That said, there is no gaming the system. If your number is called, you need to show up and embrace your civic duty. 

This is a screenshot of the online notification:

Note that in order to maintain social distancing during COVID, there are TWO reporting locations for jury duty: 

1. Clarence Mitchell Jr. Courthouse at 100 North Calvert Street (but enter on Saint Paul Street!) 
2. Baltimore City War Memorial Building at 101 North Gay Street. 

The first thousand numbers go to the Courthouse, the second thousand go to the War Memorial. Pay attention to the daily juror call-in notification for the right location. This is a screenshot with the TWO locations:

Jury Duty Day

So your number was called and it’s time to suit up for jury duty. If you get no further in this article, remember these three top tips:

• Bring your summons
• Bring layers of clothing
• Bring something to read or do (don’t assume you can use your phone or computer)

What to Wear

Jury duty is a little slice of Baltimore, and you will see all kinds of attire. I recommend you wear something comfortable, in the business casual realm. The official website FAQ provides the following guidance: 

“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.”

When to Get There

You are supposed to show up at 8:00 am, which gives them time to process everyone and be ready to start the jury selection process sharply at 9:00 am. In reality, people are rolling in any time between 7:30am, when the courthouse opens, and sometimes even closer to 9:00am (don’t be that person). Registration closes at 9:00am no exceptions, and I have no idea what type of bureaucracy is involved if you show up late – and I don’t want to find out.  

Your main incentive to get there on time or early is to get a good seat in the quiet room or other waiting area of your choice. The quiet rooms fill up fast!

How Does it Work?

You will enter the courthouse at the Saint Paul Street entrance. You will have to go through a metal detector, so leave all prohibited items behind (including “Cameras, penknives, flashlights, scissors, craft needles (e.g., knitting, crocheting, etc.), aerosol or spray fragrances, tools (e.g., screwdrivers, saws, etc.), clothing carried in bags and the like, ammunition and weapons of any type (including toy weapons)”. You can bring food and beverages in with you, but note that you cannot have food or drink inside the courtrooms themselves, so eat and drink up while you are waiting!

Once you get in, follow the people and get in line for registration. Registering is super speedy with a kind lady (at least when I was last there) directing traffic very efficiently and helping everyone through the process. Again, bring your summons – the machine will scan barcode to sign you in. If you don’t have your summons, there is a whole manual process to go through (don’t be that person!). After signing in on the machines, you will get in a super short line to speak with a person and get your money and your sticker. Yes – they give you $15 to spend the day in the courthouse! You have the option to decline the money if you wish. 

Along with the $15, they will give you a sticker with your juror number on it – you will be known only by this number all day. Stick your number on your shirt and try not to lose your sticker. Get to know your juror number (it is also on your summons). 

Your juror number is where luck really comes into play. They call jurors into court rooms by number – lower numbers increase your likelihood of being called into a courtroom. Once in the courtroom, your number still matters – the lower your number the more likely you are to be selected for the jury as they call everyone in number order. 

But back to registration. Once you are registered, you will be directed to a waiting room, or given options to choose one of various waiting rooms. Once again, the earlier you get there, the better your options are. If you are just excited to be off of work and feeling mindless, you are in luck. Most of the waiting rooms will launch a loud outdated movie for your viewing pleasure. If you want to do something productive with your time, seek out a quiet room! In good news, there is wifi in the courthouse now, though it’s not the speediest. 

Regardless of which room you end up in, starting at 9am on the dot, they will begin with a 5-minute introductory movie that explains how jury duty works. I suggest you watch it, especially if it is your first time at jury duty. This will be the first of many instructions you will be receiving all day. I have found that during the whole jury duty experience they are very good at providing clear instructions, so don’t worry if you don’t know what to do – they will tell you. 

In the Courtroom

Your day of jury service can usually go one of two ways: you wait around all day (or some of the day until you are released)…or you get called into a courtroom. Here is some guidance on what to expect in the courtroom. Once again, these descriptions are based entirely on my own experience, and I am not a lawyer or legal professional of any kind.

Getting Called to the Courtroom

So you are sitting around in a waiting room, sipping your latte and halfway through the screening of Jumanji, when the movie stops and they announce the numbers on the loudspeaker and on the screen. Your number is up! 

Everyone whose number has been called will grumble and start to gather their things (while everyone else sighs with relief). Jurors whose numbers have been called will file into the hallway and head to the designated courtroom. If your case is in the other courthouse (Courthouse East), jurors will typically gather in the lobby and a court official will walk you over to the other courthouse. 

Important: before going into the courtroom, this is your last chance to hit the restrooms without having to go through a whole process. Once you are in the courtroom, you will have to ask permission to leave and, well, it’s just more complicated. 

Everyone gets settled into the courtroom – this is where your clothing layers will come in handy. Some courtrooms are sweltering, others are freezing, and some are just right. 

There are many more rules once you are in an actual courtroom, and the judge or some other court official will tell you all the rules and give you crystal clear instructions at every step along the way. Just be prepared for: no food or drink, no cell phones (turn it off!) or other electronics, no talking, and no leaving the courtroom without permission. You will be sitting there for a while, and you have to pay attention to what’s going on. 

One of the first things that happens is that the whole jury pool will have to stand and swear to tell the whole truth before answering any of the questions. Then the voir dire begins!

Voir Dire

Voir dire is the process used to identify jurors who can be fair and impartial to serve on the trial. They usually need to select 12 jurors for a criminal trial (plus 2 alternates) and 6 jurors for a civil trial. So they have to ask a lot of questions to whittle the one hundred or so people in the room down to the number they need. 

The judge starts by giving you the basics of the case, including who the defendant and their attorneys are (they will be there). Then they start asking potential jurors a lot of questions, usually along these lines:

• Do you know anyone on the defense or prosecution side, including the attorneys? 
• Do you know anything about the incident in question?
• Do you live near where the incident happened?
• Do you know anyone from a list of potential witnesses? (They will name the witnesses.)
• Are you more or less likely to believe someone because they are a police officer?
• Have you or someone in your immediate family been the victim of a crime, or been incarcerated for committing a crime, within the past x (usually 5) years? 
• Do you or someone in your immediate family work in certain professions, usually law enforcement (any kind) or lawyer?
• Do you have some strong feelings about some aspect of the case (in Baltimore usually guns or drugs!)?
• Towards the end the judge usually indicates how long they expect the trial to go and ask: Do you have a hardship that would prevent you from participating in a jury? According to the judge at my last jury duty:
  • Things that are not hardships (apparently settled by the supreme court):
    • Financial hardship “if I don’t work I don’t get paid”
    • Having to take care of a child or family member
  • Things that could be considered hardships:
    • Previously purchased airplane/hotel tickets
    • Giving or receiving scheduled life-saving surgery

Jurors must stand up for each yes answer and stay standing. The judge will then go across the room and ask anyone standing to state their jury number (you will get to know this number very well during this process) and then sit down. 

After all the questions are asked, anyone who said yes to any of these questions will be called up in number order to the judge’s bench, with both the lawyers and the defendant there to ask you clarifying questions about any or all of your responses. There is a feisty white noise machine to make sure others in the room can’t hear your conversation with the judge. Ultimately, they ask clarifying questions because they want to know if you think you can be a fair and impartial juror. 

This is the point where all your friends’ tips on how to answer these questions to get out of jury duty will come to mind, but obviously you should ignore them and just answer everything truthfully and completely, as instructed – may I remind you that jury service is an important part of our justice system and that if you truly think you can be an impartial juror, it is your obligation to serve. 

This voir dire process can take hours! And the judge will take it through lunchtime if they must (although at some point you will get a break). So don’t go into that courtroom hungry or thirsty. 

Juror Selection

After all the questions and clarifications, it’s time to pick jurors! Some people will be released and sent back to the courthouse waiting rooms; everyone else in the room is a potential juror. They call you up to the front of the room (bring your stuff), the judge reads each juror number one by one and the defense and prosecution attorneys say whether they object to you or not. I think if either one objects you get to sit back down. If neither one objects, you get seated on the jury. They go one by one until all the juror and alternate spots are filled. 

Fun fact: You can get picked as a juror then unpicked (each side has a number of preemptory challenges). I did not know this until it happened to me! 

Once all the spots are filled, everyone else is sent back to the courthouse waiting rooms (or released for the day, depending on the time of day). 

For those seated on the jury, the trial could start right away, or another day. 

Five Fun Things About Jury Duty

1. If you have lived in Baltimore for a while, it’s almost guaranteed you will run into someone you know at some point during the day. If it’s not someone you know, it may be someone famous. I once had jury duty with John Waters!
2. The court gives you $15 for your troubles, sometimes in nice crispy notes. Use this fortune to pay for lunch and/or parking – or whatever $15 can get you these days. You can also choose to forgo the cash. If you are lucky enough that your employer is paying you while you are at jury duty, they might be able to deduct that amount from your pay (how employers handle this will vary).
3. While you wait to be called, they will put on a PG movie you wouldn’t usually watch. I’m looking at you Jumanji and 2014 Annie remake! Come early to get a spot in the quiet room if you don’t want to be bothered by the movie (usually at high volume).
4. Do your civic duty and learn real-time about how the legal system works. I’ve served on a jury and while it can feel like a major inconvenience in your busy life, it’s an interesting experience and one that everyone should have once. 
5. It’s a people-watching extravaganza! People on jury duty with you that day will look like a little slice of Baltimore.

Three NOT so fun things about jury duty

• So much waiting
• You will be hot and cold and hungry and thirsty
• You will likely spend most of the day anxious about getting picked

Parking and Places to Eat 

Some food and parking establishments offer discounts for jurors (juror sticker for the win!) – check the Baltimore City Court website for the latest deals. 

You will usually get around one hour for lunch. Some of my favorites around jury duty include: 

• David and Dad’s
• Café Poupon
• Charles Plaza Food court – Mekong Delta, Connie’s Chicken and Waffles
• Next Phaze Cafe
• La Calle (between War Memorial and Courthouse)
• Au Bon Pain (between War Memorial and Courthouse)

Final Thoughts

Jury duty can be daunting, either because of the unknown, because you have other pressing responsibilities to attend to, or because someone’s fate could ultimately be in your hands. Like it or not, it is part of living in Baltimore City – and at least now you know what to expect! 

Leave a comment to let me know if this information helped demystify the process for you, or if I missed anything and/or anything has changed. 

As a reminder, always check the Baltimore City Courts website for official information (especially related to COVID-19, which is constantly evolving).