Jury

Jury Duty Information - District Court

Welcome Prospective Jurors of Gallatin County

SCAM ALERT:  THE CLERK'S OFFICE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT WILL NEVER CALL JURORS TO DEMAND PAYMENT FOR FAILURE TO REPORT FOR JURY DUTY OR FAILURE TO RESPOND TO A SUMMONS FOR JURY DUTY.  IF YOU RECEIVE A CALL OF SUCH NATURE, PLEASE ALERT LAW ENFORCEMENT OF THIS.

Please be aware that the United States District Court, District of Montana has mailed Juror Postcards to Gallatin County Residents regarding jury duty for Federal Court. Please read the postcard carefully as it will direct you to the District of Montana's website to fill out an online questionnaire and provide a nine digit Juror number assigned to you. If you are called for Jury Duty in Gallatin County, you will receive mailings from local courts located in Bozeman, Belgrade, Three Forks, Manhattan, and West Yellowstone. Please click here to be directed to United States District Court, District of Montana's website.

Upcoming Jury Trials

*Please note that you are only required to appear for these trials if you have received a yellow summons that lists a specific DATE, TIME and JUDGE. If you have any questions regarding this process or you receive a telephone call or something in writing that you feel is questionable regarding appearing for a specific jury trial, please call our office at (406) 582-2168 or email us at GallatinDCJury@mt.gov.

Online Juror Questionnaire

In 2021, the District Court of Gallatin County started accepting the Juror Questionnaire online to save the taxpayers of Gallatin County over $10,000 per year. The Clerk of Court, Sandy Erhardt, will be sending out Annual Jury Notice postcards to prospective Jurors selected to serve for the 2023-2024 Jury Term.  If you receive a postcard and do not need to be excused, please fill out the Juror Questionnaire online within 10 days of receipt. If you prefer a paper copy of the questionnaire, please contact our office at by phone at (406) 582-2168 or by email at GallatinDCJury@mt.gov to request it.

When you Receive a Yellow Summons for a Trial Date

If you have been summoned for a jury trial, please complete the Online Juror Confirmation form here to confirm your appearance for the date of on the summons. If you are having trouble completing the form, or wish to speak to a Jury Clerk, please call 406-582-2168. 

Juror Excusals

If you receive a summons (Yellow Paper) and need to be excused from jury duty on the summons date, please complete the Online Juror confirmation form here and fill out the Request to be Excused portion of the Confirmation form. If you have trouble completing the online form or prefer a hard copy, please complete the Affidavit of in Support of Undue Hardship Excusal on your received summons and return it to our office in person or by mail. If you need to be excused permanently or excused for an undue hardship, please fill out the form here. The permanent or undue hardship excusal can be completed at any time during the jury year as circumstances may change.

Vacation Dates and Dates of Unavailability

If you have been selected to serve for the term, and you plan to be out of town or unavailable to serve at any point in the year long term, please fill out the Update Availability form here. These reasons include work travel, vacation or appointments. 

To check the status of current trials,  please call (406) 582-3670 or check the top of this page for a current list of trials

Need help? Get in touch with the Clerk of District Court's Office
GallatinDCJury@mt.gov  | (406) 582-2168

Clerk of District Court 
615 S. 16th Ave., Room 302
Bozeman, MT 59715

Service by the Sheriff

Any Juror who does not comply with the summons, may be served by the Sheriff. If you do not appear at jury duty when summoned, you may be fined according to Montana Law. Our office will NEVER contact you by telephone, email, or regular mail demanding you pay a fee for missing Jury duty. If an individual misses Jury duty without being excused by the Court, they may be ordered to appear before a District Court Judge to explain the absence. At that time, the Judge may impose a fine. The Clerk’s office would like to avoid these options, so please check your mail in a timely fashion and follow directions as received. If you need help, have questions or receive a call or something in the mail that is suspicious, please contact our Jury Team at (406) 582-2168 or email GallatinDCJury@mt.gov . Thank you for your service.

SCAM ALERT:  THE CLERK'S OFFICE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT WILL NEVER CALL JURORS TO DEMAND PAYMENT FOR FAILURE TO REPORT FOR JURY DUTY OR FAILURE TO RESPOND TO A SUMMONS FOR JURY DUTY.  IF YOU RECEIVE A CALL OF SUCH NATURE, PLEASE ALERT LAW ENFORCEMENT OF THIS.

Jury FAQs

Q: What is the Juror Questionnaire for? Do I have to complete all of its fields?

A: The Juror Questionnaire is designed to help attorneys in the Jury selection process. The questionnaire does ask some personal questions, but we ask that you do your best to answer them fully and honestly to provide a fair trial for all parties involved if you are selected to sit on the Jury. In addition, the Juror Questionnaire confirms your receipt of the Jury Notice postcard, and confirms your up-to-date contact information for the Clerk’s office and Court to contact you.

Q: If I get selected for the Jury term, does that mean that I have been assigned a trial?

A:  No. If you received the Jury Notice postcard, that means that you have been selected to serve as a Prospective Juror for the entire July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024 term. However, you will not need to appear to serve for Jury Duty until you receive a yellow summons with a DATE, TIME, and JUDGE listed. Receiving the postcard essentially means that you are ‘on deck’ to serve as a Juror for the current term. You may be selected for multiple trials within that year-long term. If you are not selected to sit on a trial from start to finish, your name goes back into the jury pool and you may be selected to serve again unless you sit on a trial from start to finish.

Q: What happens when I receive a Jury summons (the yellow sheet that lists a DATE and TIME)?

 A: If you are able to serve on the date listed on the summons, please complete the Online Juror Confirmation form here to confirm your appearance for the date of your summons or call our office at 406-582-2168. If you are unable to serve on the date listed on the summons (vacation plans, medical appointment(s) or other reason), please complete the Online Juror confirmation here and fill out the Request to be Excused portion of the Confirmation form OR complete the Affidavit of in Support of Undue Hardship Excusal on your received summons and mail or bring it to the Clerk of Court office. If you need to be excused permanently or excused for an undue hardship, please fill out the form here. If you are having trouble completing the form, or wish to speak to a Jury Clerk, please call 406-582-2168. 

Q: Why was I selected as a Juror?

A: Jurors are randomly drawn from a combined list of registered voters and holders of Montana driver’s licenses and identification cards.

Q: How long have I been selected to serve?

A: The term for Jury duty for the District Court of Gallatin County is July 1 through June 30 of each year.

If you have further concerns regarding serving as a Juror, please do not hesitate to call the Clerk’s office at (406) 582-2168 to discuss further options.

Gallatin County has multiple different courts. Please verify that you are looking for information regarding the 18^th Judicial District Court of Gallatin County and not the Justice Court of Gallatin County, a Municipal Court (Bozeman, Belgrade, Manhattan, Three Forks or West Yellowstone), or a Federal District Court (United States District Court, District of Montana).

Please be aware that there are various scams involving Jury duty. Some of these scams demand the immediate payment of money from citizens or an attempt to obtain personal information that could be used for identity theft. Our office will NEVER contact you by telephone, email, or regular mail demanding you pay a fee for missing Jury duty. If an individual misses Jury duty without being excused by the Court, they may be ordered to appear before a District Court Judge to explain the absence. At that time, the Judge may impose a fine. If you receive a telephone call or something in writing that you feel is questionable, please feel free to contact us by telephone at (406) 582-2168 or by email.

To check the status of current trials call:  (406) 582-3670

 To contact a Jury Clerk call or email:  (406) 582-2168 | GallatinDCJury@mt.gov