In this section:
Filing a Postponement & Exemption
When you have to serve, what is Jury Duty like at the Kings County Court House?
Jury Duty FAQs (including serving while pregnant and when your nanny is summoned)
360 Adams Street, Brooklyn
Room 156, in the Supreme Court Building
The office is open Monday through Friday, from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm
Getting there:
From Park Slope, the nearest stop is Court Street on the R or Jay Street on the F.
If you are the main caregiver of your child or children under 14 years of age or an elderly person, you may request a postponement by returning your completed questionnaire or summons, along with a copy of the birth certificate of your youngest child, or a doctor's note stating the condition of the person being cared for and that you are the main caregiver of that person.
Mail your completed summons with the appropriate documentation to:
The Kings County Clerk Room 156
360 Adams Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201.
If you have no prior postponements and would like to postpone your Jury Duty online, you can do so online here. Note that you can only postpone up to three months in advance.
More information on Postponements & Exemptions from Jury Duty can be accessed on the Kings County Clerk’s Office here.
"You are off the hook until your child is 14 years old. Go to courts and take your child’s birth certificate with you and they will not bother you."
"I went in person with my daughter’s birth certificate a couple of years ago and haven’t been called yet."
Kings County Clerk’s Office:
http://www.courts.state.ny.us/courts/2jd/kingsclerk/jury.shtml
New York State Court System:
Information from Employers (pdf)
What is Jury Duty like in Brooklyn?
Tips from Parents who served Jury Duty in Kings County:
“At least some of the Kings County court buildings have WiFi that you can use while you’re in the main waiting areas or waiting for people to tell you what to do (or during breaks in deliberation during a trial), although not during jury selection or, obviously, actual court time. They even have some computers available, but you get kicked off after 15 minutes by the system, meaning that anything you haven’t emailed to yourself (or saved to the cloud somehow) disappears – so bringing your own laptop is definitely worth it. (Naturally by the time I figured that out and brought a laptop my second day, that was the day I got into a jury pool first thing in the morning!)”
“I just did jury duty last week - the jury room now has wireless so feel free to bring your computer, ipad, whatever. Just no talking on the phone or eating in the actual jury room (but you can in the "jurors lounge" which is immediately adjacent).”
“I was able to bring my laptop and do some work. Make sure you don't use headphone in case they call your name--you wouldn't be able to hear it”
Jury Duty When Heavily Pregnant:
Question:
"I am in the last few weeks of my pregnancy. I just received jury duty summons to appear three weeks from now. This might be a lame question but has anyone gotten excused for being pregnant? I can always postpone it now, but within the six month time frame when I will have to reappear I will likely be breastfeeding an infant. And it might be a bigger issue then. I would love your thoughts. I am overall interested in serving on a jury and doing my civic duty, but right now I am torn about the timing."
Responses:
"You can postpone and then in 6 months when they ask you to reappear , you go with the birth certificate and your out of there in 15 minutes without serving and with paperwork that they give you to prove you don't have to come back for a couple years. I know because I just went thru it this passed summer."
"I reported for jury duty two days before my due date, figuring nobody would put me on a jury in that condition and I could use the $40 just for waiting around (since I was just waiting around anyway). I really wanted to get to the questioning part of the proceedings so that someone would ask When is your baby due and I could say "Thursday" and make everyone laugh, but alas we all spent the day in the jury room unquestioned."
"I showed up to jury duty around 35 weeks, figuring I'd be excused (I'd already had to defer once because of a wedding). Not only was I not excused, I was picked for a jury! But it was a quick two-day case, and ultimately I found it easier to handle while hugely pregnant than it would have been with an infant."
"I just had jury duty two months ago and they were very explicit that if you have any reason as to why you couldn't serve on a trial (do your entire length of jury duty) to go and get an exemption. If you are very close to your due date you can probably use that to get the exemption but no, it's not in the rulebook that pregnancy gets an exemption."
Jury Duty and your nanny:
Question:
"Our nanny has been called up for jury duty next week. Hopefully she won’t be chosen, but in case she is we want to figure out how to handle her pay. We’re happy to pay her for the day she goes in for selection, but are torn on what to do thereafter. If she’s selected for a jury we’ll have to find other care. I can’t see us being able to pay her and another nanny for long. On the other hand, if I were called up and had to serve on a jury, I would be paid... We want to be fair to her (without going broke!). It would be great to hear from others who have been in a similar situation."
Responses:
"I was under the impression that you can be excused if you are a child caretaker, but I might be wrong. Anyone?"
"I believe you’re only excused to care for your own children."
"Many jobs don't pay for time out for jury duty. The state provides compensation if the employer does not, but it's a ridiculously small amount."
