Jury Duty — Sebastian, Florida

A Sebastian jury summons comes from the Indian River County Clerk of the Circuit Court, which picks names at random by computer from the state list of licensed drivers and ID card holders in the county.

The Clerk states that jurors are selected randomly by a computer from a list provided by the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicle department of licensed drivers and identification holders (Indian River County Clerk). State law sets the pipeline: the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles delivers that list to the clerk in each county quarterly (s. 40.011). A Sebastian resident with a Florida license or ID card is therefore in the pool with everyone else in Indian River County, from Roseland and the Sebastian Highlands to Vero Beach.

To serve in Indian River County, a juror must be 18, a U.S. citizen and a legal resident of Florida and of the county, according to the Clerk. Section 40.01 adds that the juror holds a Florida driver license or ID card, or has signed the affidavit in section 40.011 (s. 40.01). That affidavit is how a Sebastian adult who does not drive, and has no state ID, can volunteer: the clerk adds the name to the list after the person signs it at the clerk's office (s. 40.011).

Summonses arrive by mail. Section 40.23 requires the clerk to mail the summons to the juror's residence at least 14 days before the court sits, unless the court orders shorter notice (s. 40.23). A snowbird whose Sebastian mail is forwarded north can still receive one, which is why the postponement and excusal rules below matter.

Sebastian residents aged 70 or older are excused from Indian River County jury service on request, and may ask in writing to be excused permanently.

Section 40.013 of the Florida Statutes says a person 70 years of age or older shall be excused upon request and may also be permanently excused upon written request; a permanently excused person can later ask in writing to be put back on future jury lists (s. 40.013). The Indian River County Clerk lists the age excusal with the other optional exemptions a summoned juror can claim (Indian River County Clerk).

The last two rows come from the statute rather than the Clerk's list (s. 40.013); they cover, for example, a Sebastian River High School senior who has turned 18. Health-based requests use the Clerk's Medical Excusal Form. A person may also be excused on a showing of hardship, extreme inconvenience or public necessity.

Some Sebastian residents cannot serve at all. The Clerk lists mandatory disqualifications: a felony conviction, a pending prosecution, no longer living in Indian River County, being under 18 and not being a U.S. citizen (Indian River County Clerk). Section 40.013 adds that the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Cabinet officers, clerks of court and judges are not qualified to serve, and that a felony disqualification ends only when civil rights are restored.

A Sebastian juror can get a one-time postponement from the Indian River County Clerk by asking at least 10 working days before the reporting date and giving a date range for service.

The Clerk's rule is specific: a one-time postponement is available if the request is made no less than 10 working days from the reporting date, and the request should include a date range of availability and a phone number for confirmation (Indian River County Clerk). Questions go to the Clerk's Jury Department in Room 139 of the Indian River County Courthouse, 2000 16th Avenue, Vero Beach, at (772) 226-3100 Ext. 3104. State law caps a postponement at 6 months, or 12 months during a declared state of emergency (s. 40.23), which can matter for Sebastian households after a hurricane.

Ignoring an Indian River County summons has a price. Under section 40.23, a person duly summoned who fails to attend without sufficient excuse shall pay a fine of up to $100, imposed by the court, and the failure may be treated as contempt of court (s. 40.23).

The Clerk also warns about a phone scam aimed at Indian River County residents. Callers posing as a local law enforcement agency claim the person missed jury duty and demand immediate payment with a prepaid card; the Clerk states that these calls are a scam (Indian River County Clerk). A Sebastian resident who gets such a call can check directly with the Clerk at (772) 226-3100.

Indian River County pays a Sebastian juror nothing for the first 3 days if the employer keeps paying wages, $15 a day for those days otherwise, and $30 a day from the fourth day on.

The rates come from section 40.24 of the Florida Statutes, whose stated policy is to prevent financial hardship from jury service (s. 40.24), and the Clerk's jury page lists the same amounts (Indian River County Clerk). The statute adds that jurors are not entitled to additional reimbursement by the clerk for travel or other out-of-pocket expenses, so the drive from Sebastian down U.S. 1 to the Vero Beach courthouse is not paid. Parking is free: the Clerk says jurors can use the parking garage directly in front of the courthouse at no charge.

Jobs are protected. Section 40.271 bars any employer from dismissing a person summoned or accepted for jury service because of the nature or length of that service, and a threat of dismissal may be deemed contempt of the court that issued the summons (s. 40.271). A worker at a Sebastian business on US 1 or CR 512 who is dismissed for serving can sue for compensatory and punitive damages and attorney fees under the same section.

A Sebastian juror reports to the Indian River County Courthouse in Vero Beach in business attire, without beverages or sharp objects, and is subject to search on entering.

The Indian River County Clerk asks jurors to dress in keeping with the dignity of the role and calls business attire appropriate; shorts, hats, t-shirts, tank tops and flip flop sandals should not be worn in the courtroom (Indian River County Clerk). Courtrooms are air-conditioned, and the Clerk suggests a sweater or light jacket, a useful note for anyone used to summer on the Sebastian riverfront.

Security rules are strict. Knives, scissors, handwork needles, metal fingernail files, screwdrivers, tools and any other sharp objects are not allowed, all persons entering the courthouse are subject to search, all weapons are prohibited and no beverages may be brought in (Indian River County Clerk). For a Sebastian juror, that list rules out knitting needles and pocketknives inside the building.

The Clerk keeps a Sebastian Office at 1921 U.S. Highway 1, open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8:30 am to 5 pm, phone (772) 226-1147, and lists it on the jury page with the courthouse contacts (Indian River County Clerk). The Clerk also announces a new jury website, Jury Web at indian-river.org, linked from the same page. Ryan Butler is the Clerk of Circuit Court and Comptroller for Indian River County.

Last verified: October 11, 2026, on the Indian River County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller jury duty page.