If you’ve been summoned for jury duty in Connecticut, you’re required to appear unless you’re excused or you postpone, but the first summons comes with an automatic right to push the date back up to ten months. Pay during the first week depends on whether you work full time. Your employer cannot fire you or make you work extra hours to make up for the time. Skipping the summons carries a civil penalty set by the court.
Who Has to Serve
You qualify if you are at least 18 and fall into any of three groups: a U.S. citizen living in Connecticut, a lawful permanent resident with a permanent address in the state, or a registered Connecticut voter.1Justia. Connecticut Code 51-217 – Qualification of Jurors You also need enough English to follow the proceedings.
You’re disqualified if you were convicted of a felony within the past three years, have a pending felony charge, or are currently in the custody of the Commissioner of Correction. A disability that would prevent satisfactory service is also disqualifying.1Justia. Connecticut Code 51-217 – Qualification of Jurors
The felony bar is time-limited. Once three years have passed since the conviction and you’re no longer in custody or facing charges, you’re eligible again. A record from a decade ago doesn’t keep you out of the pool.
If you’re 70 or older, you can choose not to serve when summoned, and you can ask the Jury Administrator to remove your name from the summoning list permanently.1Justia. Connecticut Code 51-217 – Qualification of Jurors
Postponing or Being Excused
Every summons carries a right to one automatic postponement of up to ten months. You pick the new date. If the date you choose doesn’t work for the court, the Jury Administrator will assign one that’s reasonably close.2Justia. Connecticut Code 51-232 – Summoning of Jurors Additional postponements are possible at the Jury Administrator’s discretion, but no deferral can push your service more than a year past the original summons date.
A full excusal is a different matter. The court can excuse you entirely on a finding of extreme hardship.3Justia. Connecticut Code 51-217a – Jurors Excused From Service That’s a high standard. Routine inconvenience doesn’t meet it. Serious medical conditions, caregiving duties without a real alternative, and genuine financial hardship beyond ordinary lost wages are the kinds of situations that typically qualify.
For most people, a postponement is the right first move. It’s automatic, it’s built into the summons, and it avoids the higher bar of proving hardship.
What You’ll Get Paid
Connecticut splits jury pay into two phases, and the first five days work very differently depending on your job.
The First Five Days
If you work full time, your employer pays your regular wages for the first five days of service. Full time means a position that normally requires 30 or more hours per week and is neither temporary nor casual. Temporary staffing employees count as full time if they’ve worked 30-plus hours per week in the same position for more than 90 days.4Justia. Connecticut Code 51-247 – Compensation of Jurors
If you work part time or you’re unemployed, the state reimburses your out-of-pocket expenses during those first five days. The reimbursement runs from $20 to $50 per day and covers mileage at $0.20 per mile round trip between your home and the courthouse. Food is not covered.4Justia. Connecticut Code 51-247 – Compensation of Jurors
Day Six Onward
Starting on the sixth day, the state pays every juror $50 per day regardless of employment status. Once state pay kicks in, you’re no longer entitled to separate expense reimbursement.4Justia. Connecticut Code 51-247 – Compensation of Jurors
Your Job Is Protected
Under Connecticut law, an employer cannot fire you, threaten you, or retaliate against you because you received a summons, responded to it, or served on a jury. An employer also cannot require you to work additional hours to make up for time at the courthouse. Eight hours of jury duty in a day counts as a full legal day of work.5Justia. Connecticut Code 51-247a – Employer Not to Discharge Employee or Require Additional Hours Work for Jury Service
An employer who breaks these rules faces criminal contempt, punishable by a fine of up to $500 and up to 30 days in jail. You can also sue. If you were fired, you have 90 days to bring a civil claim for lost wages of up to ten weeks, reinstatement, and reasonable attorney’s fees. If the problem is unpaid wages during the first five days, you can sue for damages, and the court can award treble damages and attorney’s fees if the employer acted willfully.5Justia. Connecticut Code 51-247a – Employer Not to Discharge Employee or Require Additional Hours Work for Jury Service
These claims go to superior court, not to the Department of Labor. The 90-day window for discharge cases is short, so if you’ve been fired for jury service, talking to a lawyer quickly matters.
If You Ignore the Summons
Failing to appear carries a civil penalty. The amount is set by the Chief Court Administrator rather than fixed in statute, and the court has discretion to waive it. If a panel comes up short, the court can order additional people summoned on the spot, and those replacement jurors face the same penalty if they don’t appear.6Justia. Connecticut Code 51-237 – Jurors Failing to Appear
Given that you already have a right to one automatic postponement, there’s almost never a good reason to skip. Requesting a new date is the safer path.
Rules During the Trial
Once you’re seated, the court expects you at every session, on time, until you’re dismissed. Irregular attendance can force a mistrial.
You have to decide the case on the evidence presented in the courtroom, following the legal standards the judge gives you. Don’t research anything on your own. That means no searching the parties, no looking up terms, no reading news coverage, and no visiting the scene. Outside research can taint the verdict and trigger a mistrial.
Don’t post about the case on social media, and don’t discuss it with family, friends, or coworkers while the trial is ongoing. If you realize partway through that you have a social media connection to anyone involved, tell the court right away. What’s said in the deliberation room stays there while the case is live.
How Often You Can Be Called
Connecticut’s jury year runs September 1 through August 31. You can be picked in any given year, but once you actually appear for service and aren’t excused, you’re exempt from being summoned again for the next three jury years.3Justia. Connecticut Code 51-217a – Jurors Excused From Service If for some reason you want to serve more often, you can write to the Jury Administrator and ask.
Federal Summonses Follow Different Rules
The rules above cover Connecticut state court. A summons from the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut is a different system. Federal jurors are paid $50 per day and reimbursed for mileage at the IRS standard business rate, which is higher than the state’s $0.20 per mile, with parking validated at designated lots.7United States District Court, District of Connecticut. Am I Compensated for Jury Service?
Federal eligibility is narrower in some ways. You must be a U.S. citizen, so lawful permanent residents don’t qualify for federal juries even though they qualify for state ones. You must be at least 18, have lived in Connecticut for at least one year, and be able to read, write, and understand English well enough to complete the qualification questionnaire.8United States District Court District of Connecticut. Am I Qualified to Serve as a Juror? The age-based opt-out is 75 in federal court rather than 70.9United States District Court. District of Connecticut Jury Frequently Asked Questions Active-duty military are automatically exempt from federal service.