For Attorneys: Jury Trial Matters

Location

You have been summoned for jury duty for the Mason Municipal Court, which is located at 5950 Mason Montgomery Road, Mason, Ohio 45040. Please review the location and direction information found on this website. . The Courtroom is on the first floor. The entrance and parking is behind the building.

Jurisdiction

The court has jurisdiction over the City of Mason and the Township of Deerfield. If you no longer live inside this geographical boundary, you are ineligible to serve on jury duty. Please notify the Court that you have moved. For our records this notice should include some proof, such as a utility bill, that proves you now live elsewhere.

Security

When you arrive at the Court for jury duty, you will be screened for the presence of potential weapons. This screening process includes, but is not limited to, processing all carried items through an x-ray scanner, walking through a metal detector, and/or being scanned with a handheld metal detector. These procedures are designed to be as non-invasive as possible. However, it is the duty of the Court to provide all users of the Court with a safe environment. The security officer will confiscate items he/she considers potentially harmful and may require you to return such items to your car or may keep such item(s), tagging each with your name, and placing them in a marked container. These items will be returned to you when you leave the Court facility.

Day of the Trial

After you are through security, there will be a court employee in the lobby checking in all prospective jurors. You will then have a seat in the lobby and wait until you are called into the Courtroom. Public restrooms are available in the lobby area.

Once you are called into the courtroom, the jury selection process, called voir dire, will begin promptly. If you are excused from service during this process, you may leave immediately. If you are eventually selected to serve, you can expect to be here for most of the day. But know, that most of our jury trials finish in just one day. You will be informed if we expect it to be longer.

Refreshments will be provided in your break room and deliberation room. Meals will be provided if you are here during lunch or dinner.

Payment for your service will be mailed to you from the City of Mason.

Getting Excused from Jury Duty

A juror may be excused or obtain a postponement if he/she presents a valid reason IN WRITING to the Court. Your written request may be delivered in person, by ordinary U.S. mail, or by email to: info@masoncourtoh.gov. If the juror is unable to sign the written request for an excuse of service, someone else with knowledge of the facts may do so. Supporting documentation (doctor’s note, medical record, obituary, travel documents, et cetera) for your excuse is highly encouraged, without such your request will most likely be denied.

The following is a list of acceptable reasons for excusal:

1. The interests of the public will be materially injured by the juror's attendance.
2. The juror's spouse or a near relative of the juror or the juror's spouse has recently died or is dangerously ill.
3. The juror is a cloistered member of a religious organization.
4. The prospective juror has a mental or physical condition that causes the prospective juror to be incapable of performing jury service.
5. Jury service would otherwise cause undue or extreme physical or financial hardship to the prospective juror or a person under the care or supervision of the prospective juror.
6. The juror is over seventy-five years of age, and the juror requests to be excused.
7. The prospective juror is an active member of a recognized Amish sect and requests to be excused because of the prospective juror's sincere belief that as a result of that membership the prospective juror cannot pass judgment in a judicial matter.
8. The prospective juror is on active duty pursuant to an executive order of the president of the United States, an act of the congress of the United States, or section 5919.29 or 5923.21 of the Revised Code.

Please do not request to be excused for reasons other than those indicated above. If you are excused, or your service postponed, you will be notified accordingly and receive a certificate of that fact. If you are not excused or postponed, you must appear as summoned. The Court would also remind you that failure to appear when called can result in a contempt of court finding against you. We hope you will approach jury duty with interest and understanding, and that you will benefit from the experience. It may require some sacrifice of your time, but it is a necessary function of our system of justice.