El Paso Jury Duty: Summons, Pay, and Exemptions

A jury summons in El Paso can come from one of three court systems: the El Paso County District and County Courts, the City of El Paso Municipal Court, or the federal Western District of Texas. Each has its own reporting location, response portal, and pay rate. El Paso County pays $20 for the first day and $58 per day once you are seated on a trial panel; federal court pays $50 per day from day one.¹ Before you do anything else, check the summons to see which court sent it. Responding to the wrong one does not satisfy your obligation to the right one.

How to Respond to Your Summons

Every summons comes with a questionnaire and a deadline. Miss the deadline and you are treated as a no-show.

For an El Paso County summons, respond through the iJuror portal at jury.epcounty.com using the Juror ID Number, Electronic Signature, and date of birth printed on your notice.² The questionnaire is also where you claim an exemption or ask for a postponement. Questions go to the county jury office at (915) 273-3522.³

For a federal summons from the Western District of Texas, you have five days from receiving the postcard to complete the Juror Information Form and Supplemental Questionnaire, either through the eJuror portal or by contacting the jury office at 525 Magoffin Avenue.⁴ Any request to be postponed or excused has to go in at the same time. The federal jury office number is (915) 534-6725.

Municipal Court summonses come from the City of El Paso and are handled through that court’s own instructions printed on the notice.

Where to Report

County Courts

Jurors summoned by El Paso County District or County Courts report to Liberty Hall at 200 S. Kansas Street. Dress is business casual. No tank tops, shorts, or flip-flops.¹

Park at the Enrique Moreno County Courthouse parking garage at 500 E. Overland Avenue, at Overland and Kansas. Jury staff hand out parking waivers at the end of the day. Your summons also includes a free round-trip bus pass to downtown, courtesy of a City–County partnership.¹

Federal Court

Federal jurors report to the Jury Assembly Room on the second floor of the United States District Courthouse at 525 Magoffin Avenue. Bring a valid photo ID. Cell phones and other electronic devices are not allowed inside the federal courthouse, so leave them in your car or at home.⁴

Municipal Court

El Paso Municipal Court handles Class C misdemeanors and city ordinance violations. Report to the address printed on that court’s summons. The Municipal Court does not provide dedicated parking, but if you get a parking meter citation while serving, you can submit the expired ticket with your juror letter to the court’s Hearing Officer for possible dismissal.

Getting Excused or Rescheduled

Texas law lets otherwise-qualified jurors claim an exemption, but you have to ask. The court will not apply one automatically. Use the questionnaire or the iJuror portal to claim any of the following:⁵

You are 75 or older. You can also ask for a permanent exemption so you are not summoned again.
You have legal custody of a child under 12 and serving would leave the child without adequate supervision.
You are the primary caretaker of someone who cannot care for themselves.
You are enrolled and actively attending a secondary school or a college or university.
You served as a petit juror in El Paso County within the past three years.
You are on active-duty military service and deployed away from your home station and out of El Paso County.
You are an officer or employee of the Texas Legislature or a legislative branch agency.

If nothing on that list fits but the date is genuinely bad, ask for a postponement instead. A postponement moves your service to a later date rather than canceling it. Both the county iJuror portal and the federal eJuror system take postponement requests along with the initial questionnaire.⁴ Do not assume the request was granted. Check the status online or call the jury office to confirm.

To qualify at all, you must be at least 18, a U.S. citizen, a resident of El Paso County, of sound mind and good moral character, able to read and write, and eligible to vote in the county (you do not have to be registered, just eligible). Prior felony or misdemeanor theft convictions, or a current indictment for either, disqualify you.⁶

Pay and How Long You Serve

El Paso County pays $20 for the first day you report and $58 per day if you are selected and seated on a jury panel. Payment is mailed after service ends. One quirk: if you show up at Liberty Hall and are excused from service without going through selection, the county does not pay for that day.¹ The county term is one day or one trial. Most people are not selected and finish in a single day.

Federal jurors in El Paso get $50 per day for every day they report, whether or not they are selected. If a trial runs longer than ten days, the judge can raise the rate to up to $60 per day for the additional days. Federal jurors are also reimbursed for mileage.⁷ Federal service is longer than county service: the pool stays on call for 30 days starting the first business day of the month.⁴

Your Job Is Protected

Texas law bars a private employer from firing a permanent employee for serving on a jury or grand jury. If your employer retaliates, you can sue for damages including lost wages, and the court can order reinstatement. The protection is in Chapter 122 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code.

Federal law adds another layer. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1875, an employer who fires, threatens, intimidates, or coerces an employee because of federal jury service is liable for a civil penalty of up to $5,000 per violation per employee, plus lost wages and possible court-ordered reinstatement.⁸

Salaried exempt employees have an extra safeguard under federal wage rules: your employer cannot dock your salary for workdays missed for jury service, though the employer may offset your salary by any jury fees you get that week.⁹

No Texas or federal law requires private employers to pay hourly workers their regular wages during jury duty, though some do so voluntarily. Check your employee handbook or ask HR before your service date so you know what will happen on your paycheck.

What Happens If You Ignore the Summons

Skipping is not a minor problem. Under Texas law, a juror who fails to appear or files a false exemption claim faces a fine of $100 to $500.¹⁰

Federal court is stricter. A juror who fails to report without being excused or postponed by a judge can be served a Show Cause Order by a Deputy U.S. Marshal, requiring an appearance before a judge to explain the absence. Contempt penalties include a fine of up to $1,000, imprisonment for up to three days, community service, or a combination.⁴

Jury Duty Scam Calls

Scammers regularly impersonate court officials, telling El Paso residents they missed jury duty and that a warrant is out for their arrest. The pitch is that the whole thing can be cleared up by phone if you hand over a Social Security number, credit card, or bank account. Real courts do not call to demand payment or ask for financial information. A legitimate summons arrives in the mail. If you get a call like this, share nothing, note the caller’s number and what they asked for, and report it to the FBI or the United States Marshal’s Office.¹¹

1
County of El Paso. Jury Duty Service
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County of El Paso. iJuror – El Paso County, Texas
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City of El Paso. City of El Paso Municipal Courts – Jury Services
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Western District of Texas. El Paso Jury Instructions
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State of Texas. Texas Government Code 62-106 – Exemption From Jury Service
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State of Texas. Texas Government Code 62-102 – General Qualifications for Jury Service
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1871 – Fees
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Northern District of Ohio. Protection of Jurors’ Employment and Message to Employers
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U.S. Department of Labor. FLSA Overtime Security Advisor
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State of Texas. Texas Government Code 62-111 – Penalty for Failure to Attend
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United States District Court – Western District of Pennsylvania. Juror Scam Warning