The Lawrence County Circuit Clerk's office would like to thank you for your involvement in the judicial process.
The jury system plays a vital role in the domestic process of the United States. The jury serves as a link between the courts and the people and also a guard against possible oppression by the government. The jury provides a means of settling disputes between citizens (civil proceedings) as well as between an individual and the state (criminal proceedings). Few activities in our civic life provide such a direct contact with our democracy as does jury service. Besides voting, nothing is so active and participatory in nature. Thomas Jefferson stated, “I consider trial by jury as the only anchor yet imagined by man by which a government can be held to the principles of its constitution.” Because of these roles, the jury is one of the foundations of liberty in our country.
Lawrence County Jury Information
Jury questionnaire is to be completed within ten (10) days after receipt by logging into the jury portal. You can access the jury portal by going to www.courts.mo.gov and selecting Submit Jury Response link on the home page. Each question is to be answered. At the end of the questionnaire prospective jurors are given the opportunity to request to be excused from service by hitting the “what if I can’t serve” button and there they are given the opportunity to give a reason for such request and to upload any supporting documentation. A partial excuse request is also permitted should they have scheduled vacations or appointments. Prospective jurors may also e-mail any supporting documentation for their request to be excused to lawrence.jury@courts.mo.gov. Any questions should be directed to this e-mail address if possible. A telephone message may be left at 417-466-2471 option 7 to speak to the jury clerk if there is no e-mail access and the call will be returned. After reviewing requests to be excused and the supporting documentation the court will notify prospective jurors whether or not they have been disqualified or excused. If no notification that prospective juror has been excused they will be expected to report for jury service on the date they were summoned to report.
After the completed questionnaires have been submitted those that are qualified to serve are placed into a qualified pool. Approximately 3 weeks prior to a scheduled jury trial a pool of prospective jurors is pulled from this qualified list to receive a summons. This summons will be sent by U.S. Mail. The Summons notes the date, and time to appear. Please bring your summons with you on that date.
To verify the jury trial, you are summoned for is still scheduled potential jurors should call 417-466-2471 and select option 9 after 5:00 PM the evening before the appearance date. This phone number may be called at any time, and as often as liked, to see if the status of the appearance date has changed. If there is a message that your jury trial has cancelled there is no reason to continue to call that number until a new summons is received to report on a different date. If you have signed up to receive automated messages via email or text you will receive notification if the trial is cancelled.
WE WILL NEVER CALL AND ASK FOR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS, CREDIT CARD INFORMATION OR OTHER SENSITIVE INFORMATION.
Please do not provide this information over the phone to anyone claiming to be from jury services.
If you are unable to serve on a specific day or week during the term, please make that request by selecting the Partial Excuse button within Juror Portal. Once selected for a specific trial, only the judge of that case has the authority to excuse you.
Lawrence County Circuit Court is located at 240 N Main St., Mt. Vernon, MO 65712.
QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR JURY SERVICE?
Additional information can be found at the State of Missouri Courts Jury page
