Kings County Clerk’s Office

Uncomfortable seats so bring a good jacket or something you can roll up to put behind your back to make it more comfortable. There is WiFi and outlets for your use. You can bring in coffee if it’s in an approved container (no glass bottles). Overall, not too bad… tolerable.

For a place I don’t want to be it is not totally terrible. That being said I hope I don’t get picked and can go home asap.
Bring a pen and your Juror notice.
Technical notes:
Security:
Metal detector is quite sensitive. I had to take off my belt and hold my arms over my head or my watch would set it off. Did not need to remove shoes or jacket.
Power:
Main jury room is ringed by duplex outlets, though they are mounted at a very strange height to avoid the millwork. They were full at mid day but opened up in the afternoon.
Networking:
The wifi is surprisingly capable. All the easier for the government to be scanning all your communications.
Audio:
The mic that the clerk uses in the main jury waiting room to provide the morning instructions is laughably bad. It was better when he stopped using it and just spoke loudly. The mic that the hidden clerk uses is perfectly audible.
Video:
The way that CNN is scaled into a tiny rectangle in the middle of the the video monitors is fantastic. Letterboxing gone wild. I also enjoyed the desktop clutter and Windows Media Player interface when the source was switched to display the orientation video. Slick.

What people have neglected to include in these reviews is that if you get picked to serve on a jury, you may be waiting there for week (s) before the trial starts because they are trying to «settle.» During this time, you still have to show up EVERY DAY ALL DAY and WAIT. So even if they say the trial will take «x» number of days, it may be irrelevant as you can be waiting for this trial to begin for days on end. It is horribly inefficient and, in my opinion completely unreasonable and unconstitutional. If you must serve at this location, try to pick a Friday, as Friday seems the slowest. Monday was definitely the worst as far as number of jury panels called.

Forget education,* the security line to get into jury duty is The Great Equalizer. Sure, any given subway car or city block will inevitably be pretty diverse in NYC, but EVERYONE has to show up for jury duty, and everyone has to endure the shockingly inefficient security line.
You get the bankers that are rich enough to have a driver take them to work, so they never have to go underground with us peasants. You get the filthy hoarders that haven’t left their apartment in half a decade because they can get literally everything delivered to them. And you get all the people in between who are at once terrified they’ll be selected for a trial, and also kind of intrigued by the process and secretly hoping to find out what their employer will do if they have to be out for three weeks.
We all have to do our civic duty.
But other than the interminable security line, and the muffled microphone** they use half the time, this is a fairly painless experience. There’s plenty of seating, wi-​fi, and… actually, that’s pretty much all I need. If my jackass colleagues*** also had jury duty, this would’ve been indistinguishable from a day in my office.
Perhaps it’s also that I have great luck when it comes to jury duty. I’ve never had to stay longer than one day, and I’ve never even been chosen as a potential juror, let alone put on a trial. For once, having a face no one wants to look at pays off.
I hope you are as ugly as I am, and I mean that in the nicest possible way.
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*Please don’t actually forget education. It’s pretty important.
**I’m a native English speaker and I have trouble understanding what’s happening. I worry for others.
***I’m just seeing if they actually read my reviews. Jackasses.

It’s more of a displeasure just seeing cops really, and Mr. Funny man is the announcer who confirms my already knowledge the government tracks and monitors tweets. Track this review through your app fat slob.
One cop I couldn’t catch his badge number really sloppy and rude. Said this: if you want to stand in the rain fine there are other entrances as well. while there was this long as hell line for scanning. He probably works for TSA in his spare time. Didn’t tell nobody that there are other entrances to this slave house of government revolving broken justice system. Made sure to give one nasty glare. I was on good behavior because I wanted to be a juror, didn’t want to get kicked out when I curse out the cops in this building.
That is about it I had a really nice time it lasted two days, while I didn’t get a chance to talk to the two lawyers after, this fat balding man kept rushing us out the room. But I really enjoyed the opening and closing arguments. The judge she is just saying what she had been enslaved and indoctrinated by the system. Finding truth on a broken system, that favors some. While I don’t frequent around this area, I do remember faces never forget the face so I never forget the experience.
I really enjoyed the service just seeing how much power you entrust in people, with little law experience is amazing to witness and even more spectacular to be a part of.
Just those two above disappointments that I had to see in the morning. Other than that I didn’t mind serving my civil duty.

Wow wow wow,
AWFUL! I called at 4:54 and a woman said whats your index # and I did not know what she meant and I apologized and she told me I was holding her up from going home. she was at the phone number 347−404−9867. This is bullshit. You close at 5:00pm and you can’t take a quick phone call. You guys are awful, rude staff who feel entitled because they are in a contract. Everyone here is very sad, depressed, and clearly cannot speak to someone face to face without having an attitude. AWFUL!!!
TERRIBLE SERVICE.
It was imperative I spoke to someone today and unfortunately I work until 4:30 and couldn’t get out any time before that. Terrible, if you don’t like your job, quit. That simple.

Bleh, I have Jury Duty tomorrow, they informed me to call a number the night before after 5pm. Called it, connected me to a voicemail box that was full. Tried calling 3 – 4 other numbers, which were all not operational.
This Clerk’s office is a prime example of a dysfunctional govt building.
Not that I really have the option to either go back here or not go back here, but just more warning people that you should expect mass confusion and no help when you have any dealings with this place.

First of all, I would like to thank all the previous reviewers who gave such details so I was «well-​prepared» on what to expect.
This was my first Jury Duty in Brooklyn, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.
The letter says that you have to be there at a certain time, but after getting through security in the front building and waiting in the large courtroom for the «opening speech», it will probably start 2 hours later.
Plugs are very few, so don’t bother bringing it because everyone already occupied them.
All your texts and emails will be monitored during your stay here.
You have to listen very closely to when your name is called, sometimes it is barely audible.
If you are the few lucky ones that don’t get called or you have an excuse that you tell your judge that you are assigned to, you don’t leave until 4pm and you will get a letter stating that you will be summoned again in 8 years.

So after a few postponments and advice from coworkers (just throw them away) I finally decided to get jury duty over with. Showed up on time and the line outside was not as bad as I expected, just a few people deep and I was quickly in the doors, after going through the detector (I hate going through those things but at least they didnt make me take off my shows) I was in the main jury room. It has pretty comfy chairs except they are all attached but it really wasnt an issue as I guess my row were not fidgety folks. They give some instructions, make you watch a video were the warn you not to post details on My Space so I guess the need to update that video a bit then after a few more instructions the wait begins. The tvs all tun to CNN without the sound and they start calling people for the interview rooms. About 11 I get called, they put you in a little room where they select 10 folks to be interviewed and the other 10 or so just sit there even more bored than before. I was one of the interviewees and was dismissed. Only 2 people got picked. so back to the jury room (a few of us excitedly thought we could go home) .
They let us go to lunch at 1245 and were told to be back at 2 but the afternoon is real slow, only one other group was called for interviews. At 415 Commissioner Sunshine addressed us all, thanked us for service and told us we didnt have to return for 2^nd day and wouldnt be called again for 8 years which led to applause!
They have a jury lounge were you are allowed o use your cell and eat or drink, a few old school vending machines, the room has windows but chairs are smaller so I stayed in the main room They have fee wifi so that was good and a row of computers along wall you can use, outlets around to charge up as well.
All along its not anything you want to do but its better to just get it over with.
Advice: Get there on time to avoid long line, be sure to bring a pen, grab one of those jury cards on your way in, bring stuff to entertain yourself and you will be fine.

These staff here are extremely rude. Is there any one accountable for their training and the way they deal with the public and even attorneys… unbelievable!

Who likes jury duty is beyond me. Beside the fact that most normal people get 40 $ in about 1 hour or 2 hours of days work that give it to you in one day. And you have to report it to the irs. Besides that you come wait in line that goes outside for about 10 – 15 mins. Go inside and take the piece of paper outside the doors by the table. Nothing really happens till like 10 because people are idiots and ask crazy questions. Seriously if you travel all this way for jury duty stop making excuses and do it already. It’s either you do it or do it six months later. Don’t go there to postpone or doctor note. They will can still send you jury summons later on. If your student just like I am go in and serve. When you get called and the lawyers will be asking you questions you tell them I’m student and will understand. Just follow the advise that others posted and bring with you a pen, charger, tablet, water etc.
btw I understand that the system was meant to be fair by really they can speed this up with computers like really haven’t they heard of Skype.

Jury duty is a huge pain. I postponed it once, but when the second summons came in the mail, I decided to just get it over with instead of postponing it again in person. It said to arrive at 8:30 AM. I reached the front of the building around 8:50 AM (train traffic… what do you want me to say?!). The line to enter the building went around the block. Great, I decided to not bring my earmuffs or gloves and it was below freezing. The line moves, but I would say I stood outside for about 20 minutes. Once you actually enter the building… surprise! There is another snake line to go through security. It wasn’t too bad. They give you little bins to place your valuables. My fellow gentlemen, please remember to remove your belts to avoid holding up the line. It will be much appreciated.
I think the line to enter was particularly long because it was the first Monday of the new year. Hopefully, your wait won’t be as long as mine.
By the time I reached the juror waiting room, it was about 9:30 AM and I missed some of the orientation instructions, but nothing really of importance. The juror waiting room is pretty damn big. The seats are wide and pretty comfortable. However, the row of seats are connected, so if another person makes even the slightest movement, you will feel it. The adjacent room has some extra seats and outlets to charge your phone/​laptop/​ipad/​whatever form of entertainment you brought to get you through the day. There are also restrooms and vending machines. The wi-​fi was decent, but it definitely had its slow moments.
Expect to be here until 5:00 PM. They called about 50 people in before lunchtime. They let us go to lunch from 12:30 PM to 2:00 PM. If you leave for lunch, you’ll have to go through security again. After coming back, no one else was called in and we were all let go early (around 3:45 PM).
Overall, it was a fairly smooth process. I was lucky enough to not get chosen for further questioning. I literally sat there for hours doing work on my laptop. All you need to do is bring yourself, something to occupy your time, your own lunch/​snacks (if possible), and your juror summons. The best thing about Kings County is once you get your certificate, you don’t have to do it again for at least EIGHT years!

I was going to rate my experience serving jury duty here 4 stars, but ‘Yay, I’m a fan’ was not a statement I could fully get behind. So three stars it is.
This Unilocal page really helped me prepare for my day here, so thank you previous reviewers!
I picked up lunch before heading in only because I did not want to bear/​brave the security line to get back in. But I think anyone who does not bring in their own food should be fine — they say lunch is 1−2pm, but they let us go at 12:45pm, so I think you’d have more than enough time to pick something up from Panera, Starbucks, Potbelly, or any of the other lunch places in the area.
Tips, as other reviewers have mentioned:
1. Bring a pen
2. Do not bring glass
3. Bring items to entertain yourself: laptop, phone, magazines, iPad, books, etc. It’s a long day. They have decent wifi here, so I was able to also do some work.
4. Bring coins, small bills, as they have a couple vending machines with the usual suspects.
Suggestion:
1. Sit in the juror’s lounge. There are a lot of windows and it’s much better than the windowless main jury room you walk into in the morning (room 260).
I already went through a round of sitting in a room of 20 people, where 10 people were randomly selected, questioned, and 7 were chosen as jurors. And although I thought I got out of jury duty altogether, a lawyer stated that anyone who was not chosen to be a jury member can be randomly selected again, and might have to go through the process (20 in a room, 6 – 10 get selected) another time today. With three hours left to go, I’m hopeful that won’t be the case.

Went in a couple times, all regarding jury postponement. I went early and there was almost no line. They simply asked me to choose a day when I’d be available within the next six months. Unfortunately, I was again unavailable because of school, they let me postpone it once again.

This is probably one of the most pointless reviews I ever written («who likes or want to serve jury duty?!»). But this is based on my experience & advise for any future potential, first-​timer jurors, like myself.
I got a pink & white summons in the mail that was my indication that I have to report to this office/​courthouse. Make sure u eat breakfast before u come (b/​c it will be a long day for you to function & lunch is at 1:00 PM but I got out early at 12:30 when I was called during that time) & COME EARLY, as there will be a long line and/​or u might be reported to go to another courthouse in the area. It appeared to me that some ppl get different colored jury summons. As I learned my time serving, pink & white summons & this location usually means «civil court/​matters». If you have either a purple, gray, or blue & white summons, it will vary – (but most likely u will be redirected to the «criminal courts» either on Jay OR Livingston Street respectively). But still follow the instructions on the summons & show up to this address early, about 30 mins before to when u are told to come & the correction officers will kindly direct u to the right place. They were surprising polite in a way. And the supreme court entrance is really right on/​facing Court Street so taking the 2,3 trains to Borough Hall is literally the closest train there.
The morning line, the security check point & waiting all day (until 4:00 PM really) to be called on to a case or even as u are being interviewed to be on the jury is/​will be the most annoying part of this process but the ultimate pro is if you are not called or chosen to be on a jury the day u show up, u won’t be called for jury duty again for another 8 years & they give u a notice of proof that u served your time, in case they try to call you back shortly a year later or two. U can excuse yourself (w/​a doctor’s note perhaps) but it’s somewhat worth it to stick it out that whole day to never return again ever in the near future b/​c u will just be postponing this day if u try to fight serving.
U can come dressed as you like (as long as it’s not distasteful in any way) and u can bring with u/​use your phone, laptop or Ipad/​Kindle in the main jury room while you wait & in the jury lounge I think. U will need some form of entertainment with you, trust me b/​c you will be BORED to DEATH & even sleep if u do not make any new friends (as I did not talk to anyone there & many ppl did not really engage in conversation with me). They do have wifi but I bet it doesn’t work well. I used my own. They do have vending machines in the jury lounge, in case u don’t eat before u come or have a case of the munchies but u can also bring your own snacks/​drinks as well.
The ppl that work for the jury clerk (particularly this partially bald, blonde white guy will address the whole room w/​instructions & talk to u like u are mentally retarded. Even the jury duty tutorial u watch before they start calling names sounds like something like they are talking down to u, since it is what it is I guess. But I understand why in a sense (since I encountered some very clueless ppl serving jury duty as the lawyers interviewed us).
U are basically sitting around most of the day until ur name is called for a case. When u are called, it doesn’t mean, «congrats u’re picked!». U are reported into an interview room with 10+ other ppl there exclusively. U full out a personal questionaire about urself. There is a question on the form if u would like to discuss anything that u feel that is private about u with the lawyers, u should perhaps check that box b/​c when the lawyers interview u directly in the room (from my experience only particularly when they are interested in u as a juror), ur peers will hear u answer. They will tell u very little about the case they are ligating about so it’s best to say as little about urself as possible if u don’t want to serve. These 2 lawyers, each of them ask everyone publicly questions to determine if they want u or not on their case. It was pretty obvious in my experience as the plaintiff lawyer did not waste my time and just asked us, «who thinks they can be a fair juror or can/​would want to do this?». The NYS lawyer was a jerk however & really kept ranting on to the 2 jurors he was interested in, wasting my time. They both have to make this decision together I suppose. I wasn’t chosen, as I was honest with the lawyers that I would be bias in this case. But I don’t think from my experience, u may not have it easy.
Jury duty was very boring. I did want to die in my sleep, even as I was really being interviewed by the NYS laywer, AND YES, it was also a waste of my whole day as I did not make any new friends or found any guys interested in me but I certainly won’t have to do this again in another 8 years. If you serve jury duty anywhere else in the city, u’re screwed lol. You have to come back every 4 to 6 yrs.

If you hate bureacracy, then stay away by all means necessary. If you have an in with any of the higher ups though… nah it’s still a pretty dismal place. But what can I say, this is the behind the scenes shenaniganz that make what the goings on in Suits and Law and Order run like clock work.
An obligatory +1 star for these guys, considering my particular line of work wouldn’t be happening without this place.

I’m not sure why so many people are writing about jury duty when this is the page for the COUNTY CLERK’S OFFICE. Most of the clerks who work in this building are the most misrable SOB’s I’ve ever encountered. There’s a few exceptions of course. It makes no sense at all why the motion support dept. has to shut down for 2 hours everyday for «lunch». They all have to go at the exact same time? Most of the «workers» down in good ol room 189 are awful and act like you’re bothering them if you ask for help.
Side note: If you’re not familiar with this building, go in the side door and avoid all lines.

Here for jury duty, which im not very thrilled about… but I’ll share some tips to help you prepare for the experience.
1. eat breakfast before you arrive (or bring it with you because lunch time is from 1−2pm) so many people were upset because they were not allowed to leave the building.
2. bring 2 pens! I would prefer not to share my glitter Betsey Johnson pen with the butterfly charm… dont judge me!
3. more than likely you will be released after 5pm… so plan accordingly.
4. bring your phone charger or laptop charger because there are outlets in the room near the bathroom. you will run out of juice!
5. bring small bills and change as there are vending machines for basic snacks, drinks, and coffee.
6. dress comfortable because you will be sitting for a long time, but keep it classy. booty shorts and belly shirts are inappropriate on males and female… and yes people actual show up dressed like this!
7. its 90 degrees outside and the AC is pumping in here… I’d suggest bringing a sweater!
one last thing… the entrance is not on adams st! its on the side of the building facing court street!

Civic duty is great. Let’s get that out of the way, it really is. Jury duty is actually a great thing, ok? We all get to wake up early, hang out with strangers, and basically stare at a wall for 8 hours. I don’t know why people get mad about jury duty — I think a jury of my peers is way better than trial by angry bees or extremely unimpressed British royalty. While I’d rather not spend 8 hours in a kind of weirdly quasi-​comfortable, quasi-​torture chair, watching MSNBC on mute while some guy snores (HOW ARE YOU SLEEPING IN THESE CHAIRS DUDE) I’d like to focus on what is awesome about the jury duty experience.
1. The guy who stocks and organizes the vending machines? HE CARES. A LOT. He is an artist. I spent about 45 minutes watching him hang out with all the vending machines in the lounge, and, wow, that guy has an eye for color grouping. He made some really dynamic arrangements in the chip rows. I almost hoped no one would buy anything — but his artistry was SO EFFECTIVE that people immediately bought chips. Good job sir.
7. Wow, they have one of those coffee vending machines where the cup pops down and then it gets filled, that totally reminds me of Terminator 2. Just saying. Because I’ve been sitting here for 6 hours and all I can do is make pointless comments.
H. The gentleman who briefed my group/​herd this morning (which is not easy, considering how few people can manage to FILL IN A CIRCLE AND SPELL THEIR NAME) had all sorts of jokes. I respect that. He totally made my morning. He also seriously blew my mind about how they know what’s going on with twitter and Facebook and he might be a wizard.
44. When else are you going to have an hour long lunch break — what is this, Europe?
G. Nancy Sunshine. this woman is an actual ray of sunshine. When she came in at 4:45 to tell us what was going on and thank us for her service, I was like, WOW, this lady REALLY APPRECIATES OUR SERVICE. I wanted to give her a high five but that’s probably illegal. Anyway, how often do you go into a government building and leave with thanks and applause?
Beyond that, let’s be real, if you get picked, and you have a brain in your head, you’re part of what makes our country not a fascist police state — yay! So be proud of yourself. And if you don’t get picked, you can get a LOT of reading done, learn how to read lips if you watch MSNBC carefully enough, and bask in the majestic handiwork of the man who restocks the vending machines in the lounge. He is an ARTIST.
Tips? Don’t blow your money on the vending machine drinks (I say after playing the Pepsi challenge out of sheer boredom all morning), bring your own — just know you can’t bring in glass bottles. They’d probably let you have a minor snack-​picnic in the lounge area if you needed to. There’s a farmers market right smack in front of the courthouse certain days (Tuesday I can vouch for) and they have fun pastries and fruit and stuff, there are street meat carts galore, and the typical assortment of business district grab-​and-​go joints (like that soup place and that burrito place and that chicken place and every other corporate chain in the history of ever). I HEARD THIS COOL WEBSITE Unilocal COULD HELP ON THAT FRONT.
Let me just say that I was shocked by the friendliness and efficiency of the staff here. Have you been to the DMV? Social Security office? Dept of Ed? Yeah. This is not those places. Hooray.

Hilarious, a place on Unilocal to talk about the jury duty experience in Brooklyn as if you can choose to go there like a BYOB restaurant.
Get ready for a 9 – 5 deal, people. Brooklyn needs jurors! They don’t let you go if you get dismissed from one pool of potential jurors. Oh no, you might go through 2 or 3 more. The good news is the building is actually quite nice – clean, airy, good AC, and WiFi, comfy cushioned seats. There are also computer terminals where you can check your e-​mail if you don’t have a smartphone or laptop, and vending machines selling the usual crap and some granola bars.
The clerk clearly is bored and tried to make the day a platform for his attempts at comedy, which at least kept me interested. Don’t dread this day, just get it over with, citizen.