Jury

Justice Court mails jury questionnaires in late spring or early summer to those residents of Lewis and Clark County selected by computer to serve as possible jurors in this court. If you have received such a questionnaire you must return that questionnaire to the court within five (5) days.

If you have a valid reason to be excused from jury duty you must complete the affidavit of excuse included on the back of the questionnaire form and return it to the court. Montana law provides that “A juror must not be excused by a court for slight or trivial cause or for hardship or inconvenience to his business but only when material injury or destruction to his property or to property entrusted to him/her is threatened or when his/her health or the sickness or death of a member of his/her family requires his absence.”

If you are selected to appear for jury duty you must report to the Justice Court in the Lewis and Clark County Courthouse, 228 Broadway, Room 102, Helena, on the date of the trial at approximately 8:45 am so that the trial can start as close to 9:00 am as possible. Jury trials in Justice Court usually only last one day.