Jury Duty

Jurors are selected from a list of registered voters, persons holding valid driver's licenses, and persons with state identification cards provided to Richland County by the state Election Commission. The County uses a computerized jury selection program to ensure that jurors are selected entirely at random.

The juror selection for the Magistrate's Courts only selects jurors who live in the area served by a particular Magistrate's Court, while the Civil and Criminal Courts select jurors from throughout the entire County. Once selected, summonses or notices are created and mailed out to those selected for service.

You have a choice to serve or not serve if you are over 65 years old, or if you were inadvertently summoned after having served within the past three calendar years as a juror. Additionally, you may be disqualified from jury service if:

• You have been convicted in a state or federal court of a crime punishable by more than one year of imprisonment and your civil rights have not been restored
• You are unable to read, write, speak or understand the English language to a degree sufficient to allow you to act as a juror
• You have less than a sixth-grade (or equivalent) education
• You are unable to render efficient jury service because of severe mental or physical infirmity

If one of these exemptions applies and you have received a summons for jury duty, please contact the Jury Coordinator as soon as possible to be excused. Your name will not be removed from the jury pool unless you contact the Jury Coordinator and request the exemption.