Crime Q&A: How are prospective jurors selected for the federal court in Sacramento?

Q: I’ve served on juries in Sacramento Superior Court many times, but there’s also a federal court here, which I’ve never been called for. How do they summon people to be jurors for the federal court?

A: The United States District Court, Eastern District of California, has court facilities in Sacramento and Fresno.

The Sacramento court has jurisdiction over the counties of Alpine, Amador, Butte, Colusa, El Dorado, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Mono, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Shasta, Sierra Siskiyou, Solano, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Yolo and Yuba. Names of prospective jurors are drawn randomly from voter registration rolls in those counties, according to information available on the court’s website.

Unlike Sacramento Superior Court, where jurors are on call for one week, jurors who receive a summons for federal court are expected to be on call for 30 days. Jurors summoned to federal court service receive an attendance fee of $40 for each day they are required to appear. Those who have to travel 80 miles or more one way and spend the night in Sacramento receive a “subsistence” payment of $170 per night for hotel accommodations, or $61 per day if they stay the night at someplace other than a hotel, according to the website.

This story was originally published July 5, 2017 at 9:09 PM with the headline "Crime Q&A: How are prospective jurors selected for the federal court in Sacramento?."