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Arlington Sending Out Jury Duty Questionnaires

Gavel (Flickr photo by Joe Gratz)Arlington is sending out its annual questionnaires to randomly selected residents to find jurors for next year.

The questionnaires will be sent to about 11,000 residents of Arlington and Falls Church, which is also in the Arlington Circuit Court’s jurisdiction, this month, the county announced Friday. The pool of residents receiving questionnaires was selected from voter rolls provided by the state Board of Elections.

Those who receive the questionnaires have 10 days to fill them out and send them in, either via standard mail or online. The court wants to remind residents that the questionnaire is not a summons to appear, and, according to the press release, “please do not call the Clerk’s Office asking for an excuse from jury duty. Excuses or postponements to serve at another time during the year can be considered if you are actually summoned to serve as a juror.”

Jury terms are typically no longer than four days, Monday through Thursday, but the average trial is one to two days, the county said. Jurors receive $30 per day as reimbursement. The 2015 court year goes from the third week of January 2015 to January 2016.

Not responding to the juror questionnaire within 10 days is a violation of state law.

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