Jury Duty in St. Lucie County

A St. Lucie County juror checks in online through the Clerk's Online Juror Check In, which handles postponement and excusal requests, confirms service and opens the Juror Questionnaire.

The Clerk's Jury Duty page asks summoned jurors to complete the Juror Questionnaire online before the report date; anyone who cannot will find computers and Jury Clerks to help on the morning of service. If selected, a St. Lucie County juror serves for one trial, which the Clerk describes as a minimum of one or two days, and the days served may not be consecutive.

The summons itself is mailed by the clerk. Under section 40.23, Florida Statutes, the clerk of the court summons the people drawn for the venire at least 14 days before the court sits, by mail to each residence, although the court may order less notice. To qualify at all, section 40.01 says jurors must be at least 18, citizens of the United States, legal residents of Florida and of their county, and must hold a Florida driver license or ID card or have signed the affidavit in section 40.011. The St. Lucie County Clerk's disqualification list makes the same residency point for anyone who no longer lives in the county.

Jurors who have not been postponed or excused call 772-462-6982 after 5 p.m. on the evening before the date on the summons, and a recorded message says whether to report to the Fort Pierce courthouse.

If no message plays or the recording is not working, the St. Lucie County Clerk's jury page says to report on the date and time printed on the summons. Service ends only after one of three things: serving on a trial, appearing and not being selected, or calling the automated line and hearing that service is not needed. A summoned St. Lucie County juror who fails to appear may be fined $100, found in contempt of court and ordered to appear, the Clerk warns, which tracks the state rule in section 40.23: a fine not to exceed $100 for failing to attend without sufficient excuse, plus possible contempt.

The same St. Lucie County page carries a public notice about calls, texts or emails that claim a jury date was missed and demand immediate payment: the Clerk's office and the courts never demand payment by phone, never ask for gift cards or money apps and never request personal or banking information (Clerk jury page).

The reporting place for St. Lucie County jurors is the second floor Jury Assembly Room of the Fort Pierce courthouse, 218 South 2nd Street, downtown.

The Clerk's locations and hours page lists the Fort Pierce Courthouse as the building for court and jury duty, separate from the Clerk's Main Office at 201 S. Indian River Drive and the St. Lucie West branch in the South County Annex in Port St. Lucie, and it asks anyone reporting for jury duty to confirm the location and reporting instructions before arriving. Jury Assembly keeps office hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays, with a phone of 772-462-6900 and mail to Attn: Jury Assembly, P.O. Box 700, Fort Pierce, FL 34954 (Clerk jury page).

Parking is the practical trap in downtown Fort Pierce. The jury page tells jurors to use the parking garage next to the courthouse along 2nd Street and not to park in 2 hour restricted street or lot spaces, and the locations page notes that many downtown Fort Pierce spaces have a two hour limit. Security screening at the courthouse entrance includes a metal detector and a wand; the Clerk's list of prohibited items includes glass bottles and food containers, knives, scissors, nail clippers, knitting needles and pepper spray or hair spray.

Yes: the St. Lucie County Clerk allows two postponements, and a third requires written documentation sent by fax, email or mail.

Per the Clerk jury page, a typical postponement in St. Lucie County runs four to six months depending on availability. Requests go by email to Jury@stlucieclerk.gov with the Candidate or Juror Number, by fax to 772-462-2124, or by phone to 772-462-6983, and a Jury Clerk answers within 2 to 3 business days. The state limit is in section 40.23: service may be postponed for a period not to exceed 6 months on written or oral request, or up to 12 months when a public health emergency or a state of emergency has been declared, and the request may name a preferred date.

Florida law disqualifies some people outright and excuses others on request, and the St. Lucie County Clerk asks for both kinds of request in writing, as soon as possible before the reporting date.

The St. Lucie County Clerk's jury page also lists other disqualifications, among them people who are not U.S. citizens and people who are no longer legal residents of St. Lucie County, who are asked to include the new address. Section 40.013, Florida Statutes adds that no Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Cabinet officer, clerk of court or judge is qualified to be a juror, that a judge may excuse a practicing attorney, a practicing physician or a physically infirm person, and that anyone may be excused for hardship, extreme inconvenience or public necessity. The Clerk and the statute word the law enforcement rule differently, and both versions appear in the table above. Medical excusals in St. Lucie County use the Clerk's Juror Medical Request Excusal Form; other requests use the Non Medical Excusal and Disqualification Form, sent to Jury@stlucieclerk.gov, by fax or by mail to the Jury Department, P.O. Box 700, Fort Pierce.

St. Lucie County jurors are paid at the state rates: $15 per day for the first 3 days for jurors who are not receiving wages, and $30 per day from the fourth day for everyone.

Section 40.24, Florida Statutes states that the compensation policy aims to prevent financial hardship, that the clerk of the circuit court pays no extra for travel or other out of pocket expenses, that a juror excused at his or her own request receives no pay for the first 3 days, and that reemployment assistance benefits are not lost because of juror pay. The St. Lucie County Clerk jury page lists the eligible groups for the $15 rate as jurors who are regularly employed without wages during service, not employed, self employed or retired.

No: Florida law bars any St. Lucie County employer from dismissing a person summoned to or serving on a jury because of the nature or length of that service.

Section 40.271, Florida Statutes applies to every juror summoned in St. Lucie County as anywhere in Florida. Threats of dismissal by an employer or an agent may be treated as contempt of the court that issued the summons, and a dismissed employee may sue for compensatory and punitive damages plus reasonable attorney fees. Jurors with a disability who need accommodations contact the St. Lucie County Jury Coordinator at 772-462-6983 within two business days of receiving the summons, and callers who are hearing or voice impaired use 800-955-8771, the Clerk jury page says.