The Jury Commissioner's Office operates within Cattaraugus County but comes under the auspices of the State of New York Judicial System. The Jury Commissioner's Office is located in the Cattaraugus County Center in Little Valley, New York, and is staffed by the Commissioner of Jurors and the Deputy Commissioner.
The function of the Jury Commissioner's Office is to supply jurors for Supreme and County Courts, Grand Jury, and Surrogate's Court when necessary. The Office currently supplies lists of jurors to the two cities and 32 towns in Cattaraugus County for use in their Courts. Juror questionnaires are continually mailed out in order to keep the records current, as well as keep the necessary number of qualified jurors in the files to supply the Courts when needed.
Several areas of the law have changed over the past few years regarding jurors. There are presently five different lists used to randomly supply names to the Jury Management System which generates questionnaires mailed to prospective jurors. As of January 1, 1996, the law was changed to provide no exemptions or disqualifications. Excusals can be granted following guidelines set by the Chief Judge of the State of New York, and at the discretion of the Commissioner if proper documentation is presented. Once a juror is summoned and reports for service, (s)he is not eligible to serve again for at least four years.
NYS Department of Motor Vehicles
Licensed Drivers List
Board of Elections
Voter Registration List
NYS Department of Taxation & Finance
Taxpayer Mailing Lists
NYS Department of Social Services
Recipients of Aid to Families with Dependent Children and Home Relief
NYS Department of Labor
Unemployment Recipient List
New changes to the Judiciary Law governing jury service in 1997, took effect August 1, 1998, affect jury service for persons serving in Town and Village Courts. Currently jurors serving in these Courts are not given good service as these Courts are not courts of record. The new law provides for good service to be given to all jurors serving in Town and Village Courts. Also, jurors will be given the choice to volunteer for service earlier than four years, if they so desire.
This Office will be handling the selection, summonses, lists, and so forth for both City Courts once the Unified Court System reprograms the Jury Management System to allow for the service in Cattaraugus County.