- Home
- Your Government
- Courts
- Circuit Court
- Jury Information
Circuit Court Jury Information
PETIT JURY INFORMATION LINE: 804-556-5351
This phone line is a recording about upcoming petit jury trials only. This phone line will let you know if a jury trial is cancelled after jury members have been summoned. Cancellations happen often so we encourage you to check the phone line the morning before you come for jury service as there could be a late evening or early morning change. We update the jury line as soon as official word has been received of a cancellation.
In addition to updating the jury line, we also update the Goochland Circuit Court Facebook page.
For general information regarding serving jury duty in Virginia, see the Answer Book for Jury Service provided by the Virginia Supreme Court.
COURT PROTOCOL: Jurors will need to present valid photo identification when appearing for jury service. Dress code is business casual; shorts, tank tops, jeans and the like are not appropriate. Weapons, cell phones, laptops, mp3 players, e-readers, and cameras are not allowed in the court room. DO NOT bring them to the court building or you will be asked to return them to your vehicle.
GRAND JURY INFORMATION - The Grand Jury convenes on the second Tuesday of every even-numbered month. Citizens summoned for Grand Jury service report to the Circuit Court Building by 9:15 a.m. on Term Day. For general information regarding serving as a grand juror in Virginia, see the Handbook for Virginia Grand Jurors provided by the Virginia Supreme Court. Grand Jury service is not subject to cancellation.
How jurors are selected.
Potential jurors are selected using voter registration and Department of Motor Vehicles records. An annual pool record is generated after the addresses are returned by the screening company which eliminates any potential jurors with invalid addresses.
From this annual pool record, jury questionnaires are created and mailed to potential jurors for the next calendar year. This happens in late August or early September. The questionnaire must be completed by the potential juror and returned to us within 10 days. The questionnaire can be completed online via the juror portal (link below), mailing the questionnaire in the supplied envelope or turning in to the Circuit Court Clerk’s Office in person.
Once the questionnaires are returned, they are screened by our office. If someone is a non-resident (occasionally this happens by error), they are removed from the pool of potential jurors. If a questionnaire is not returned, that individual is automatically kept in the pool of potential jurors to be selected the next calendar year. If you submitted a questionnaire and then move during the next year, it would be helpful to contact the Circuit Court Clerk’s Office and advise us that you have moved so we can remove you from the pool. Appropriate documentation showing that you are no longer a resident of Goochland County will be required.
In late October, the questionnaires are reviewed by jury commissioners who screen for any potential jurors that are unable to serve. Once the jury commissioners are finished, the remaining jurors become the potential jurors for the next jury year. Our jury year runs from the second week in February through the following February.