Jurors & General FAQs
Q: I received a jury questionnaire, does this mean I have to serve on a jury? A: Maybe. It means that you are one of about 2000 Shelby County citizens that are in a 6 month jury pool. For the next six months, the 3 Shelby County Courts (Circuit, Superior Court 1 and Superior Court 2) will electronically dip into that pool and randomly remove a panel of about 50 jurors for each trial. There are about 6 jury trial settings each month between all three courts. That panel of jurors will report to the courthouse where they will either be selected or rejected by the parties to the lawsuit. Selected jurors will be seated as the jury and will hear the case. Those rejected or not needed will be released. If you were released, you will be moved to the back of the line in your pool of 2000. If you served on the jury, you may request to be excused from additional jury service for the next 2 years. This does not apply to Federal Jury Service, in theory you could have to serve on both a State and Federal jury (but not at the same time of course).
Q: How do I get out of jury duty? A: You can request an exemption or a deferral. Exemptions are very limited by law and deferrals are at the discretion of the Judge of the court where the jury is to take place. Send a Request for Exemption/Deferral to the court from whom you received the jury notice.
Q: I’m having trouble logging onto Zoom. A: Download the app onto your phone or computer instead of using the browser, or alternatively, use the browser instead of the app. The passwords are case sensitive. Use all capital letters for the criminal session password and all lower case letters for the civil sessions. Many audio issues can be resolved by toggling the mute/unmute button.
Q: I want to file a motion, what kind of form do I use? A: The court cannot provide legal advice but the Indiana Supreme Court has a self-help form library online which you may find useful. You can also find legal forms at Indianalegalhelp.org. Any motion or other correspondence must be sent to all other parties in the lawsuit. You must certify on your motion or correspondence that you have sent a copy to all other parties in the lawsuit. Small claims litigants should use forms found on the Superior Court 2 small claims website. Motions must comply with the attributes demanded by Administrative Rule 10. You must attempt to determine if the other party objects if you are seeking to continue a hearing. Motion to Continue Form.
Q: Where are the public restrooms in the Courthouse? A: Just past security check-in on the first floor when you enter the courthouse.
Q: What type of clothing should I wear to court? A: Rely upon the advice of your attorney. If you don't have an attorney, you cannot be too well-dressed for court. Your clothing can send a message that may be either positively or negatively received by the Court or jurors. You should be mindful of that when dressing for court.
Q: Can I talk to the judge about my case? A: Generally the answer is no. You can speak with the judge only if the other parties are present. Otherwise, this is call ex-parte communication and the law doesn't allow it. The law requires that both parties be present when speaking with the judge so that the judge doesn't hear just one side of the case.
Q: What does the case number mean? A: 73D02 = The case is in Superior Court 2. 73D01= The case is in Superior Court 1. 73C01 = The case is in Shelby Circuit Court. The case numbering system is governed by Indiana Administrative Rule 8. The uniform case numbering system consists of four groups of characters arranged in a manner to identify the court, the year/month of filing, the case type and the filing sequence. The following is an example of the case number to be employed: 73D02-2401-CM-1. Shelby County is the 73rd county alphabetically in the State of Indiana. The year is 2024. January is the 1st month of 2024. CM is a criminal misdemeanor case. 1 is the first criminal case of the year.
Q: Will my Motion to Continue be granted? A: Maybe/maybe not. It is up to the Judge. The Court understands that life happens, but last minute continuances are highly disfavored. While it is helpful that the other party does not oppose the Motion to Continue, the Judge alone runs the court calendar. Silence to a Motion to Continue should not be viewed as implicit approval of the Motion to Continue. Moreover, the Judge does not constantly scan the e-filing queue looking for last minute Motions to Continue. Parties should plan to appear unless they have knowledge the Judge has agreed to continue the matter.