Jury Laws & Procedures

NOTICE TO CITIZENS OF WAYNE COUNTY  

SUBJECT: REVISION OF LOCAL JURY LISTS 

Click here for Facts and Information About Jury Service 

If you have served as a juror in the past, you may need to complete a new questionnaire to update your status as a juror. 

Residents of Wayne County who have a Georgia Drivers License and the official registered voters list of the county are used as a source for obtaining names of jurors, as is required by law. Even though you are not registered to vote, your name may still be added to the jury list(s) of the county. 

To be eligible for jury duty, an individual must be a legal resident of Wayne County (have lived here for six months or longer), be eighteen (18) years of age or older, and be intelligent and upright. Persons convicted of a felony (or a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude) who have not been pardoned or had their civil rights restored are not eligible for jury service. 

By law, the only persons exempt from jury service are individuals: 

  1. 70 years of age or older (application must be made in writing to the Jury Commission to inactivate);
  2. U.S. military personnel on active-duty status;
  3. Non-residents;
  4. Deceased;
  5. Permanently physically or mentally unable to serve (and they are required to have an appropriate physician or professional file an affidavit with the clerk certifying the existence of the disability). 

Click Here for a Juror Affidavit

All other persons are eligible jurors. 

Any citizen whose name is placed on the jury list(s) of the county is eligible for service upon being randomly selected by the electronic, computer-based jury selection system of the Clerk of Superior Court and State Court. No one may be compelled to serve as a juror in successive terms of court within a year, nor for longer than four weeks within a year, except upon special order of the court or if a trial juror is selected as a grand juror during the next term of court. 

The average length of service for a trial juror (also called a "petit" or “traverse” juror) is two-and-a-half (2½) days. Grand jurors have an average length of service of five (5), although they may be required to return for three or four additional days during the term of court in which they serve to receive criminal presentments. Trial jurors are summoned for either civil or criminal trials. 

Persons who hold elective office, public office, or who have held office within two years preceding service as a grand juror, are not eligible. 

Should you have questions or need additional information, please contact Elouise Ogden, Clerk of Wayne Superior Court (Post Office Box 920; Jesup, Georgia 31598 Telephone (912) 427-5930 

Your cooperation and assistance is greatly appreciated.