Jury Duty Information

Procedures
If you have been selected for jury service in the Municipal Court of the Town of Westlake – the court would like to thank you in advance for the donation of your time and service. Jury service is an obligation of citizenship, which is essential to the judicial process and is an opportunity for you to make a meaningful contribution to ensure justice is provided in our community.

The types of case(s) you will deliberate are Class C Misdemeanor offenses, generally consisting of traffic citations. A small percentage of the docket will contain theft, assault, ordinance, and other offenses related to Code of Criminal Procedure.

The Judge of the Municipal Court recognizes that jury service may entail an imposition on the citizens called for service. Many of our residents travel, own businesses or have small children so, in order to minimize any potential burden caused by your summons, we try to limit your time to a half-day of service. The dockets are set according to morning and afternoon sessions, which generally require you to appear for only this time period.

Duty as a Juror
The United States Constitution and the Texas Constitution guarantee all people, regardless of race, religion, sex, national origin, or economic status, the right to trial by an impartial jury. Justice depends on the jurors who serve in our court. As a juror, you must be fair and impartial to ensure that your actions and decisions are free of any bias or prejudice. (Texas Uniform Jury Handbook, Ch. 23 GC)

Location & Parking
The Municipal Court of the Town of Westlake is located at 1500 Solana Blvd. Building 7, Suite 7100 in Westlake.

You may park anywhere you find an open space that is not marked as reserved for another business. The Town and Court have a total of 20 reserved parking spots which you are welcome to use.

Eligibility Requirements
In order to be eligible to serve as a juror, you must:

• Be able to read and write
• Be a citizen of the United States and of this state
• Be at least 18 years of age
• Be a Town resident
• Be of sound mind
• Reside in the county of jury service

You cannot serve on a jury if:

• You have been convicted of a felony or of any type of theft (unless your rights have been restored)
• You are now on probation or deferred adjudication for a felony or any type of theft
• You are now under criminal indictment for a felony or under criminal charges for any type of theft

Exemptions
While the Court understands there are legal exemptions to your jury service, we request that you consider those options carefully as we are a small community and depend on you to assist us in providing an effective judicial system for those charged with an offense in Westlake.

You are entitled to be excused as a juror if you:

• Are the caretaker of a person who is unable to care for themselves (an invalid)
• Are a student in class
• Are over 70 years of age
• Can show a physical or mental impairment or an inability to comprehend or to communicate in English
• Have legal custody of a child under 10 years of age and jury service would leave the child unsupervised