If you’ve been summoned for jury duty in Marin County, respond to the summons by the date printed on it, call or check in the evening before your reporting date to see whether you’re actually needed, and if you are, report to the Superior Court at the Marin County Civic Center in San Rafael. California runs a one-day or one-trial system, so if you’re not placed on a jury the day you report, your service is finished.
How to Respond to Your Summons
Your summons arrives by mail with two numbers you’ll need: a Juror ID and a PIN. The fastest way to respond is through the court’s online portal at jury.marin.courts.ca.gov, where you can confirm your date, request a postponement, or claim a disqualification or excusal.1Superior Court of California, County of Marin. Jury Portal Login You can also mail back the form that came with the summons or call Jury Services at (415) 444-7120 between 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. on business days.2Superior Court of California, County of Marin. Jury Services
Respond promptly. Ignoring a summons doesn’t make the obligation disappear; it just moves the matter toward fines and, eventually, a judge.
Checking In the Night Before
You don’t automatically report on your scheduled date. After 5:00 p.m. the evening before, including weekends, you have to check in with the court to find out whether jurors are actually needed the next morning.3Superior Court of California, County of Marin. Juror Summons Use the online portal with your Juror ID and PIN, or call the court’s recorded message. The system will either tell you to report in the morning, give you a new check-in date later in the week, or tell you your service is complete.
If you forget and miss your date, log into the portal with your Juror ID and PIN. It will tell you whether you need to reschedule or whether no jurors were called that day anyway.4Superior Court of California. Jury Service Frequently Asked Questions
Postponing or Getting Excused
If the date doesn’t work, you can reschedule once through the online portal to another date within the following six months.4Superior Court of California. Jury Service Frequently Asked Questions Pick a date that genuinely works, because the postponement is one-time. Routine work or school conflicts are a fine reason to postpone, but they aren’t a basis to be excused.
California law doesn’t exempt anyone from jury service based on occupation or income.5California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 204 – Trial Jury Selection and Management Act The only recognized ground for an excusal is undue hardship, and the Judicial Council defines it narrowly:
- You have no reasonable way to get to the courthouse by public or private transit.
- Your commute would exceed roughly 90 minutes each way.
- Serving would compromise your ability to support yourself or your dependents. The court weighs your household income, whether your employer reimburses jury pay, and the expected length of the trial.
- A physical or mental health condition would expose you to undue risk during service. Unless you are 70 or older, the court can require a physician’s note or similar documentation.
What Happens When You Report
Jurors report to the Marin County Civic Center in San Rafael. Free all-day parking is available in the lot east of the Civic Center on Matthew Hymel Way, south of the lagoon. Don’t park in reserved or two-hour spaces; those get ticketed.7Superior Court of California. Frequently Asked Questions
You pass through security on the way in, so leave weapons, pocket knives, and sharp tools at home or in the car.9Superior Court of California, County of Marin. Juror Summons
After check-in, you wait in the jury assembly room for an orientation on the judicial process and courtroom conduct. When a judge needs a panel, a group is called to a courtroom for voir dire, the selection process where the judge and attorneys ask questions to decide whether you can be fair and impartial in that case. If you aren’t picked for a trial by the end of the day, you’re typically done. If you are seated, you serve through the end of that trial.
Pay and Mileage
Juror compensation is modest. Starting on your second day of service, you receive $15 per day. The first day is unpaid. You also get mileage reimbursement at $0.34 per mile for travel to and from the courthouse, also beginning on day two.8California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 215 The statute covers miles “actually traveled in attending and returning from court,” so the reimbursement is for the round trip.
Jury pay is taxable at the federal level, so you report it on your return even though the dollars are small.10IRS. Skills Warm Up: Jury Duty Pay Given to Employer
Your Job While You Serve
Your employer cannot fire you, demote you, or retaliate against you for serving on a jury. California Labor Code Section 230 asks only that you give reasonable advance notice of your service dates. If your employer retaliates, you’re entitled to reinstatement, lost wages, and recovery of lost benefits, and you can file a complaint with the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement to pursue those remedies.11California Legislative Information. California Labor Code 230
If you’re a salaried exempt employee under federal wage law, your employer can’t dock your pay for a partial week of jury service. Do any work during the workweek and you must receive your full salary for that week, though your employer may offset the jury stipend against the salary owed for that same week.12U.S. Department of Labor. FLSA Overtime Security Advisor
Federal employees play by a different rule. If you receive court leave from a federal agency, you must reimburse the agency for the jury fees you collected from the court. The mileage reimbursement is yours to keep.13U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Fact Sheet: Court Leave
If You Ignore the Summons
Skipping jury duty isn’t consequence-free. Under Code of Civil Procedure Section 209, the court moves through a graduated process that ends with an order to show cause in front of a judge, and the fines escalate with each violation:
- First violation: up to $250
- Second violation: up to $750
- Third and subsequent violations: up to $1,500
The court can also skip the monetary sanctions and hold you in contempt, which carries the possibility of additional fines or jail time. Paying a fine doesn’t erase the obligation; you still owe the service.14California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 209 Responding and asking for a postponement is far simpler.
Who Can’t Serve
Before you plan around a reporting date, confirm you’re actually eligible. To serve in Marin County you must be a U.S. citizen, at least 18, a resident of the county, and able to understand English well enough to follow courtroom proceedings. You’re disqualified if you are currently serving on a grand jury, are under a conservatorship, or have a felony conviction and your civil rights have not been restored.15Justia. California Code CCP Part 1 Title 3 Chapter 1 A disability alone doesn’t disqualify you; the statute specifically says that loss of sight or hearing, or any other disability affecting communication, doesn’t make a person incompetent to serve.