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WELCOME TO THE OFFICE OF THE
CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT COURT
FOURTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT
HENRY COUNTY
DEBRA J. DOSS, CIRCUIT CLERK
Jury Duty in Henry County
To be eligible
for jury service you must be at least 18 years of age, a resident of
Henry County, and a citizen of the United States.
The jury pool consists
of a merged list from the Secretary of State’s Office. The list is
taken from Voter’s registration, Driver’s License registration, and
Illinois identification cards.
Every year the
Jury Commissioner Clerk mails questionnaires to residents of Henry
County. You are required to fill out the questionnaire and return. A
self-addressed stamp envelope is enclosed for your convenience.
The
questionnaire consists of basic questions which are taken into
consideration by the Jury Commission Clerk who then determines if the
prospective juror is eligible or not. Jurors are exempt only if they no
longer live in Henry County, have served within the last twelve months
or are currently serving a sentence for a crime or are on probation or
parole. There are no work exemptions, by statute, employers must give
potential jurors time off from his/her work and may not require an
employee to work second or third shifts while serving on a jury.
However, an employer is not legally required to reimburse the juror
his/her pay.
Approved
questionnaires are placed in a jury pool for a four year period, if not
selected in that four year period the questionnaire has expired and is
no longer eligible.
There are three
potential juries you may be summoned to serve on: Petit, Grand or
Coroner. Grand Jury is impaneled for 18 months. They are required to
inspect the County Jail and to hear evidence presented by the State’s
Attorney and determine if such evidence is sufficient to charge a person
or persons with a crime by a Bill of Indictment. Questions are to be
directed to the Henry County State’s Attorney at 309 937-3582.
Coroner’s Jury is impaneled for 12 months. They will hear evidence
presented by the Henry County Coroner to determine the manner and cause
of an individual’s death. Questions are to be directed to the Henry
County Coroner at 309 937-5550.
Petit Jury is
the most common. Petit Jurors will hear evidence and render a verdict
in civil or criminal cases. Each prospective juror will receive in the
mail a summons instructing them to appear before the Circuit Court of
Henry County at the Courthouse in the Village of Cambridge, IL at a certain
time and date. The summons will be marked PANEL A or B and will
instruct the prospective juror to call a certain number after 5:00 PM
the evening before the date scheduled for jury duty. The recorded
message will inform the prospective juror if they need to report, if
their service has been deferred, or their service has been completed.
There may be an
occasion when a prospective juror cannot appear on the required date for
petit jury service, such as illness or vacation, and so on. If so, the
prospective juror will need to telephone the Circuit Clerk’s office at
309 937-3572, and request to speak with the Judge’s Clerk.
Once a
prospective juror is selected to be on the jury, reports to the Henry
County Courthouse, a service fee of $15.00 per day plus mileage will be
mailed at the end of his/her jury service.
During the
juror’s service, judges, attorneys and court staff shall make every
effort to assure that the juror is treated with courtesy, respect and
regard for their privacy.
If you are
lucky enough to be summoned, we certainly hope that you find your
service to be a worthwhile experience.
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