Frequently Asked Questions

If you have received a summons stating your required appearance for a specific trial date, please contact the Court to confirm receipt. Failure to contact the Court may result in personal service of the summons by the Whitefish Police Department. 

When contacting the Court by phone, you will be greeted by our phone menu. Please follow the menu's instructions to complete the check-in process.

Yes.  Montana Code Annotated 3-15-301 states it is the policy of this state that all qualified citizens have an obligation to serve on juries upon being summoned for jury duty, unless excused. 

Jurors are selected randomly for individual trial dates. If selected to serve a prospective trial juror, it is not possible to “trade” or postpone your service for a different trial date. If you are unable to serve for a specific trial date, you will need to file a request for excusal. Requests for excusal for specific trial dates can be done by emailing WhitefishMunicipalCourt@mt.gov.

Yes. If you have circumstances that would prevent you from serving on a specific trial date, please file a written request with the Court.

Yes. Please notify your employer that you have been summoned for jury duty. The law prohibits any employer from preventing an employee to serve as a juror. The law also prohibits an employer from depriving an employee of benefits because of jury service, such as requiring you to use vacation or personal time to serve. 

Failure to respond to your jury summons may result in personal service by Whitefish Police Department, or a hearing scheduled to show cause as to why you should not be held in contempt. 

Not necessarily. The Court summons 30 – 40 prospective trial jurors for a single jury trial. Through a process called voir dire, the two parties will select 6 trial jurors and possibly one alternate trial juror. After voir dire, all individuals not chosen to serve will be allowed to leave. 

Please notify the Court so that we can prepare accommodation. If you feel that your disability/circumstance hinders your ability to serve on a jury, you may make a request for excusal. 

Unfortunately, the Court is unable to predict the outcome of any case and the possibility of last-minute changes in the jury trial process cannot be controlled. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your willingness to serve. 

Yes, please file a written request by email to WhitefishMunicipalCourt@mt.gov or by filing the request in person during court hours. Requests for excusal must be received well in advance of the trial date. Late requests may not be received in time for review. Unless you receive a reply from the Court granting your excusal, your appearance will remain required. 

Some of your duties as a juror are as follows:

• Listen carefully to all evidence presented during the trial. 
• During deliberations, discuss the evidence with fellow jurors and decide what the facts are, based upon which witnesses and evidence you believe. 
• Apply the Law, as explained by the judge, to the facts, as determined by you. 
• Do no independent research or investigation. 
• Determine the money damages in some civil cases. 
• In criminal cases, decide whether the defendant is guilty or not guilty. 
• Arrive at a verdict. 

A Juror's Guide is also available that may answer further questions.

Jurors are requested to dress in a manner that is respectful to the litigants and the Court. You may wear comfortable, but appropriate business-like clothing. Shorts, jeans, T-shirts, tank tops and sweatshirts should not be worn. Hats and sunglasses are not allowed to be worn in the courtroom. 

Trials in the Whitefish Municipal Court are normally one day, but depending on the type of case, trials could last two days. Once a case is sent to the jury for deliberations, it could last well into the evening hours. 

No. Jurors will be released for meals and are welcome to bring their own drinks and snacks. The Emergency Services Building has a water fountain available as well as vending machines with light snacks and drinks. 

A trial held in this court will either be a criminal trial or a civil trial. A defendant has a right to a jury trial in any charge filed in this court. Those charges include both state statute violations and city ordinance violations. The Court is unable to give specific details about an upcoming jury trial. 

Jury trials can be unpredictable and can go shorter and longer than expected. Please arrange childcare in advance, or request excusal by submitting this in writing. Requests for excusal can be emailed to WhitefishMunicipalCourt@mt.gov.

The Clerk of Court of the Eleventh Judicial District Court provides the yearly panel of individuals selected for jury duty. Please contact the District Court in Kalispell with any questions regarding your selection. 

To qualify as a juror, you must be at least 18 years of age. 

Yes. You will receive $12.00 for reporting for jury duty. If selected to serve on a jury, you will receive an additional $13.00 for the first day and $25.00 per day thereafter. 

You may submit a notarized Affidavit of Excusal along with a doctor’s note. Once received by this Court, you will be temporarily excused from this Court’s panel. Your information will then be forwarded to District Court in Kalispell for review for permanent excusal. 

Serving as prospective trial juror will not prevent you from being summoned to serve for a different trial date. Once you have served as a trial juror, you will not be summoned for the rest of the calendar year. 

Notify Whitefish Municipal Court as soon as possible of your change in residence. The Court will not be able to remove you from Whitefish’s jury panel until we receive written notice of your new residential address. You may email this information to WhitefishMunicipalCourt@mt.gov. 

Yes. Jury Questionnaires are only valid for the calendar year for which you have been chosen to serve. 

As soon as a trial is vacated, jurors will be notified by phone call. You may also check on the status of a trial by refreshing our Jury Duty Information page. 

Please notify the Court of the death. If at all possible, please provide a copy of the obituary or the death certificate. We apologize for your loss and will do our best to make process of permanent excusal as quick as possible. 

Montana Code Annotated does not exclude any individual from acting as a trial juror as long as that person is over the age 18, a resident for at least 30 days in the city, town, or county in which the person is called for jury duty and is a citizen of the United States. However, if you feel you should be excused from serving as a juror because of undue hardship, you may file an Affidavit of Excusal.