Jury Duty
Jury Duty
Jury Service is compensated at $6.00 per day. Please contact the court office at 281-485-3048 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the day before your scheduled time to serve to verify that a jury trial is still scheduled. If you need to reschedule your jury service, you must notify the court in writing prior to your scheduled day to appear.
What to expect:
- Court is held at the city hall building in the community room.
- You will sign-in with a court clerk and pick up your jury number.
- You will be directed by the court clerk where to go to hear a single Class C Misdemeanor case, punishable by fine only.
- You should expect to be at the court for at least 2-3 hours.
- Most cases are completed in one evening.
- You will be required to adhere to the Municipal Court Dress Code.
Juror Qualifications:
Per Texas Government Code 62.102, a juror:
- Must be at least 18 years old.
- Must be a citizen of the United States.
- Must be a resident of this state and of the county in which the person is to serve as a juror.
- Must be qualified under the Constitution and laws to vote in the county in which the person is to serve as a juror.
- Must be of sound mind and good moral character.
- Must be able to read and write.
- Must not have served as a juror for six days during the preceding three months in the county court or during the preceding six months in a district court.
- Must not have been convicted of misdemeanor theft or a felony.
- Must not be under indictment or other legal accusation for misdemeanor theft or a felony.
Juror Exemptions
Per Texas Government Code 62.106, a juror may establish an exemption from jury service if the person:
- is over 70 years of age;
- has legal custody of a child younger than 12 years of age and the person's service on the jury requires leaving the child without adequate supervision;
- is a student of a public or private secondary school;
- is a person enrolled and in actual attendance at an institution of higher education;
- is an officer or employee of the senate, the house of representatives, or any department, commission, board, office, or other agency in the legislative branch of government;
- has served as a petit juror in the county during the 24 month period preceding the date the person is to appear;
- is the primary caretaker of a person who is an invalid unable to care for himself or herself; or
- is a member of the United States military forces serving on active duty and deployed to a location away from the person's home station and out of the person's county of residence.
Failure to Answer Jury Summons/Juror Contempt
Per Texas Government Code 62.0141:
In addition to any criminal penalty prescribed by law, a person summoned for jury service who does not comply with the summons as required by law or who knowingly provides false information in a request for exemption or to be excused from jury service is subject to a contempt action punishable by a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $1,000.