The State Court of Cobb County conducts jury trials on misdemeanor and civil cases where a party requests a trial by jury. All criminal jury trials in this court are tried before a six-person jury. Civil cases, wherein the amount of the claim exceeds $25,000.00, can request a twelve-person jury. All other civil cases are tried by a six-person jury.
Serving on jury duty? Check here after 6:00 PM the day before your jury service report date for instructions for your Pool Group.
During the week of your jury service, check back each evening after 6:00 PM for reporting instructions for the next day until your jury duty is completed.
If you received a jury summons:
Postponement and Exemption Requests
Postponements
Postponements are granted or denied at the discretion of the court and will be considered based on the trial demands during the week you are scheduled to serve and the number of previous postponements granted.
CLICK HERE to submit a request for a postponement.
Exemptions
There are certain exemptions that may legally excuse you from jury service or make you ineligible to serve. Jurors must submit appropriate documentation to be excused.
Printable Exemption Forms (Notary Public may be required and must be visible on the form):
Failure to Appear as Summoned
Did we mail you a letter stating that you failed to appear as summoned for jury duty?
Reporting for Jury Duty
Parking
There are three locations available for free juror parking:
- Lot A: 147 Dobbs Street, Marietta, GA 30090
- Lot B: 122 Waddell Street, NE, Marietta, GA 30090
- Parking Deck "P": 191 Lawrence Street, Marietta, GA 30090 (bring your parking receipt with you to be validated at juror check-in.)
Qualifications to Serve as a Juror
State law requires that jurors must meet certain qualifications to serve on jury duty. All jurors must be:
- 18 years of age or older
- A citizen of the United States
- A resident of Cobb County
- The person listed on the jury summons (and summoned under the correct name)
If you are a convicted felon and have had your civil rights restored, you may qualify to serve as a juror. If you have served as juror in the last 12 months, please contact the State Court Jury Administration office so that they may verify if you are qualified to serve again.
CLICK HERE for more information about reporting for jury service.
Attendance Verification
If you or your employer need an attendance verification that lists the day(s) you reported for jury duty, you can access a letter that will update immediately after you check-in for service each day. A verification of attendance will also be included on the check we mail at the completion of your jury service.
CLICK HERE for a verification of attendance after reporting for jury duty.
Opt-in for Notifications
If you would like to receive text messages and e-mails about your jury service, you can opt-in to receiving notifications. We will send important updates and instructions via e-mail throughout the duration of your jury service.
Other General Information
Jury duty in Cobb County typically lasts one week, unless otherwise instructed by the judge. Jurors will receive $50 per day for in-person reporting and must follow the Court's security protocols and dress appropriately. All jurors are required to go through the security checkpoint when entering the building.
CLICK HERE for more information about reporting for jury service.
State Court Juror Orientation Video
More Information
Donate Your Jury Duty Check
As a juror in the State Court of Cobb County, you have the unique opportunity to give even more back to your community through our Juror Compensation Donation Program. Jurors can voluntarily elect to donate their juror compensation of $50 per each day they report for jury service to one of the following organizations/departments:
Cobb County Accountability Court Treatment Programs:
- Drug Treatment Court
- DUI Court's Sober Streets, Inc.
- Mental Health Court
- Veterans Treatment Court's Bravo Victor Fund
Cobb County Departments/Organizations:
- Cobb County Animal Shelter
- Cobb Parks and Recreation
- Cobb Public Library System
- Cobb Senior Services
- Cobb Sheriff's Foundation, Inc.
- Cobb Trees Program
All donations are tax-deductible. Please speak with a member of the Jury Administration staff to learn how to donate!
ALERT!! Jury Scam
Residents of Cobb County continue to receive fraudulent phone calls claiming that the victim failed to appear for jury duty in Superior or State Court of Cobb County. The scammer tells the victim that he or she can avoid arrest by making a payment, which may include purchasing a pre-paid card—such as a Green Dot card or gift card—and then giving the card number to the scammer. The scammer may sound convincing and use real information about the victim, real court addresses, and real names of law enforcement officers, court officials, and judges to make the scam appear more credible. Scammers may even “spoof” the phone number on caller ID so the call falsely appears to be from a court number or the number of another government agency.
- The court will always send a jury summons by U.S. Mail.
- The court and law enforcement will never demand payment over the phone.
- The court and law enforcement will never demand a gift card number to satisfy an obligation.
- A prospective juror who disregards a jury summons will be contacted through U. S. Mail by the court and may, in certain circumstances, be ordered to appear before a judge. Such an order will always be in writing and signed by a judge.
- A fine will never be imposed until after the individual has appeared in court and been given the opportunity to explain his or her failure to appear. If a fine is imposed, it will be in open court and reduced to writing (and will not be payable by gift card number).
If you have received a scam phone call and wish to verify whether you have been summoned for jury duty in Cobb County, please contact Jury Administration at 770-528-2628. You may also contact the Cobb County Sheriff's Office at 770-499-4700 or 770-499-4766 if you are a victim of a scam or have any other related concerns.
These sorts of scams have been reported by local and national news outlets, and the FBI warns the public of ongoing widespread fraud schemes in which scammers impersonate law enforcement or government officials in attempts to extort money or steal personally identifiable information. For more information from the FBI's public service announcement, please click link below.
Internet and Social Media
While serving on jury duty, it is important to know your responsibilities as a juror to ensure fairness to the parties in a case.
Juror Responsibilities Regarding the Internet and Social Media
Georgia State Law for Employers
§ 34-1-3. Unlawful to discharge or discipline employee who is absent for purpose of attending judicial proceeding in response to court order or process
(a) It shall be unlawful for any employer or the agent of such employer to discharge, discipline, or otherwise penalize an employee because the employee is absent from his or her employment for the purpose of attending a judicial proceeding in response to a subpoena, summons for jury duty, or other court order or process which requires the attendance of the employee at the judicial proceeding. It shall be unlawful for any employer or the agent of such employer to threaten to take or communicate an intention of taking any action declared to be unlawful by this subsection.
(b) Any employer or agent of such employer who violates subsection (a) of this Code section shall be liable to the injured employee for all actual damages thereby suffered by the employee and for reasonable attorney's fees incurred by the employee in asserting a successful claim under this Code section.
(c) This Code section shall not apply to an employee who is charged with a crime, nor shall it prohibit an employer from requiring an employee to abide by regulations requiring reasonable notification to an employer of the employee's expected absence or delay in reporting to work in order to attend a judicial proceeding.
Laws 1987, p. 1156, § 1; Laws 1990, p. 590, § 2.
OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
Employee is entitled to pay while serving jury duty. – An employee is entitled to be paid his salary while missing work to serve on jury duty. 1989 Op. Att’y Gen. No. 89-55