This information applies to jury service in the circuit and criminal courts of Putnam County, Tennessee.
You may receive a jury summons in the mail from the court indicating that you are being called to serve as a prospective juror. This means that your name was drawn from the current list of licensed drivers in the county. It is against the law in Tennessee as of January 1, 2009 to summons a juror from the county's voter registration list.
All names are selected at random from this source, which provide the jury system with a fair cross-section of the communities that it represents. At all stages of selection, the jury commissioner must insure that the selection process represents a random cross-section of qualified persons residing within the county. As a necessary part of this requirement, no person or persons can be selectively included or excluded from the list of qualified jurors.
ELIGIBILITY:
The Tennessee Code spells out the minimum requirements for a competent person to act as a juror. A person is eligible for jury service if he or she is a citizen of the United states, has been a resident of Putnam County for at least 12 months, has not served as a juror during the previous twenty-four (24) months, and has not been convicted of perjury, subornation of perjury, a felony, or any infamous offense.
EXCUSE FROM SERVICE:
Jurors will only be excused if serving will cause an undue or extreme physical or financial hardship. Such a hardship may be present if the juror has a mental or physical condition which causes the juror to be incapable of performing jury service or if the juror would:
(a) be required to abandon a person under such juror's personal care or supervision due to the impossibility of obtaining an appropriate substitute caregiver during the period of participation in the jury pool or on the jury
(b) incur costs that would have a substantial adverse impact on the payment of the juror's necessary daily living expenses or on those for whom such juror provides the principle means of support;
(c) suffer physical hardship that would result in illness or disease; or
(d) be deprived of compensation due to the fact that the prospective juror works out-of-state and the out-of-state employer is unwilling to compensate the juror, or that the prospective juror is employed by an employer who is not required to compensate jurors and declines to do so voluntarily. An undue or extreme physical or financial hardship does not exist solely based on the fact that a juror will be required to be absent from the juror's place of employment.
If you wish to assert such a hardship, Click Here to complete the Declaration of Hardship Form
You may be required to provide an affidavit, financial records, physician's statement, or other documentation relevant to your request. Failure to provide satisfactory documentation may result in the denial of your request.
You may be summoned to serve on either civil or criminal cases depending on the court issuing the summons. Circuit Civil Court and Circuit Criminal Court have slightly different procedures. You will be instructed as to the procedure for your court on the day in which you are summoned to appear. Each time you come in as a prospective juror, you can expect to go into the courtroom and go through the jury selection process. If you are not selected as a juror on the date summoned, you are excused and given instructions on when you need to return.
POSTPONEMENT OF SERVICE:
Jurors may request a temporary postponement of their jury service under extraordinary circumstances. If you cannot serve during the scheduled impanelment period, it may be possible for you to request a temporary postponement. It is expected that if your obligation is deferred, you will make appropriate arrangement with the Jury Coordinator, at 931-528-1508 so that you can serve during a later impanelment period.
Remember, jury service is your right and duty as a citizen. Failure to respond to a jury summons could result in sanctions against you by the court. Your assistance and participation is needed in order that the courts may operate in the most efficient manner possible.
