SUPERIOR COURT
Jury Services Office
What We Do

The main duties of the Jury Services Office are to select and process potential jurors. First, the staff selects and processes jurors before they appear in the courthouse. They then select and process jurors who report to the courthouse. Superior Court supplies jurors for civil and criminal Superior Court trials; for civil trials in the Court of Common Pleas; and for landlord tenant trials in the Justice of the Peace Courts. Superior Court also provides jurors for the Grand Jury process.

The jury manager is responsible for the statewide jury system. The jury manager is responsible for maintaining the Master List from which all jurors are summoned. The Master List is required to be as representative in gender, age and racial ratios as those of the U.S. Census. The jury manager is also responsible for the policies and procedures for the summoning, excusing and postponement of jurors. Procedures are governed by the Petit Jury Plan, Grand Jury Plan, the Capital Murder Jury Plan and the Special Jury Plan. When the jurors’ term of service is over, the jury manager oversees the payroll process.

When jurors report to the New Castle County Courthouse, the assistant jury manager assists those who have problems, while other jury clerks check in jurors for service. In New Castle County, jurors serve for the length of one day, or one trial. An important part of the assistant jury manager’s responsibilities is to conduct the court’s orientation for each day’s new group of jurors. In Kent and Sussex counties the jury staff does orientation, but only once every two weeks, when their new jurors report.

In Kent County and Sussex County, the jury staff summon jurors, process qualification questionnaires, and excuse and postpone jurors. Statewide Jury Services receives many, many phone calls, and the staff answer them and assist the citizens who call about their jury duty. When jurors report to the courthouse, the jury staff check them in, update juror information, and process and track jurors through the jury selection process. Lastly, the jury clerks distribute the Juror Appreciation Certificates to jurors at the end of their service.