Petit jurors are on call for approximately one month, but they will probably not be needed every day during that month.

Grand jurors serve for 18 months, convening one time each month.

The U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to a jury trial in certain cases. The jury must represent a cross-section of the community in order to prevent discrimination. For this reason, citizens will only be excused from serving on a jury for a few reasons.

Grand jurors from throughout Nebraska report to the federal courthouse in Omaha. Petit jurors report to the federal courthouse in Omaha, Lincoln, or North Platte, depending on their county of permanent residence.

The court will make every effort to accommodate jurors with disabilities or special needs. Please include your needs on the juror qualification questionnaire or notify the court in writing by e-mail, fax, or U.S. Mail. Be sure to include your telephone number because the jury clerk may need to discuss accommodations with you. You may request to be excused if you are disabled and jury service would be an undue hardship or extreme inconvenience.

A jury clerk will not ask you to provide sensitive information like social security numbers or credit card numbers over the telephone. Most federal court contact with prospective jurors will be through U.S. mail.

You may be excused if jury duty will cause you undue hardship or extreme inconvenience. Explain in detail why you are requesting to be excused on your juror qualification questionnaire. If you have already submitted your questionnaire, your request must be made in writing and submitted either by accessing eJuror online or by e-mail, fax, or U.S. Mail. The court will consider each request on a case-by-case basis. Your jury service may be postponed to a break or summer month.

The court will try to honor a juror's request for a partial excuse for a doctor's appointment, scheduled vacation plans, or business obligations. Explain the reason for your request on your juror qualification questionnaire, giving the date(s) you need to be gone. If you have already submitted your questionnaire, your request must be made in writing and submitted either by accessing eJuror online or by e-mail, fax, or U.S. Mail. The court will consider each request on a case-by-case basis.

Update your permanent address on the online or paper juror qualification questionnaire. If your primary residence is still in Nebraska, the court will notify you in writing if your service changes to another division of the U.S. District Court for Nebraska. If your residence is outside Nebraska, you no longer qualify to be a juror in federal court in Nebraska.

Submit the juror qualification questionnaire on that person's behalf. In the designated area, indicate 1) the nature of the person's disability or the date of his or her death, and 2) your name and relationship to the individual.

Your summons indicates the dates of your jury service. The court will mail a letter before your service begins which will provide additional information about your upcoming jury duty. Begin to check your reporting instructions after 3:00 p.m. Central Time on the Friday before your reporting date. Continue to check your reporting instructions every Friday after 3:00 p.m. or as it instructs. To receive your reporting instructions, do one of the following:

• Login to eJuror at http://www.ned.uscourts.gov/juror and select Current Status; or
• Call the toll-free automated jury message system at 1-866-534-5317.

Enter your 9-digit participant number shown on your summons. The message will inform you whether or not you are scheduled to report for jury service. If you are not scheduled to report, the message will instruct you when to check your reporting instructions again.

The court’s schedule occasionally changes at the last minute. For this reason, you must check eJuror or call the automated jury message system after 12:00 p.m. the day before you are to report to the courthouse. The message may instruct you to report or indicate your appearance is not necessary. If you report to the courthouse when you have been instructed not to report, you will not be paid or given credit for that day’s attendance.

• Omaha
• Lincoln
• North Platte

Required:

• Photo ID (required to enter the building);
• Jury summons (you may be asked to identify yourself as a juror); and
• Enough clothing and personal items to accommodate a stay of up to five days if you live 60 or more miles away (one-way) and are staying overnight.

Allowed personal items:

• Book, magazine, etc.;
• Laptop computer (if you present your summons upon entering the building; free wireless Internet access is available in Omaha and Lincoln);
• Food, snacks, or items for special dietary needs (refrigerators and microwaves are available in Omaha and Lincoln); and
• Cellular phone (if you present your summons upon entering the building; must be turned off or silenced in courtroom).

Not allowed:

• Weapons;
• Cameras and other image/video devices;
• Mace or pepper spray;

Not necessarily. A jury will be selected from the large group of people who are summoned to report.

Most trials begin at 9:00 a.m. and end by 5:00 p.m. Jurors are given at least one hour for lunch and will receive one break in the morning and one break in the afternoon.

Any person summoned for jury service who fails to appear as directed may be ordered by the district court to appear and show cause for his or her failure to comply with the summons. Any person who fails to show good cause for noncompliance may be fined, imprisoned, and/or ordered to complete community service.

The judge, the lawyers, or both the judge and the lawyers will ask the jurors who reported for service a series of questions. The questions can cover topics such as the jurors' background, employment, friends, beliefs, and so on. This questioning, which takes place in the courtroom, is called "voir dire." Based on the answers that the jurors give, the lawyers pick the individuals who will actually be on the jury for that trial. Jurors who are not picked are usually free to leave the courthouse.

The length of a trial depends on how complicated the issues are. Most trials last three to five days.

Unless the judge tells you otherwise, you may go home each night. Occasionally, trials continue into the evening hours. If this happens, the judge will give you time to make arrangements and to call your family.

It is very unlikely that you would ever be required to stay overnight unless the judge orders the jury in a criminal case "sequestered." A sequestered jury is one kept from most outside contacts during the trial.

Your family should call the clerk's office, and a court employee will get the message to you as soon as possible.

If you are serving in Omaha or North Platte, your family should call 402-661-7350 or toll free 1- 866-220-4381 (dial zero for immediate assistance).

If you are serving in Lincoln, your family should call 402-437-1900 or toll free 1-866-220-4379 (dial zero for immediate assistance).

Yes, attendance fees are reportable and taxable. Jurors paid $600 or more in attendance fees will receive a 1099 Form from the court. This form will be mailed prior to January 31 of the following year. For additional information visit the Internal Revenue Service Website at www.irs.gov.

No, the information is requested, but not required.

The court may provide counseling services to petit jurors through the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) in cases with especially troubling testimony and evidence. Services are provided by Federal Occupational Health, a component of the U.S. Public Health Service. EAP counseling services can be provided as long as the jurors are serving; it is not available once jurors have been dismissed from service. The trial judge must enter an order prior to the end of trial extending “for administrative purposes” the jurors’ term of service for a period sufficient to allow individual jurors to obtain counseling. Jurors can be provided up to six sessions each.

Grand jurors may not receive EAP counseling because Fed.R.Crim.P. 6(e) prohibits grand jurors from disclosing matters “occurring before the grand jury” – an obligation that continues after their service has ended.