Jury Duty in Newark at MLK Federal Courthouse... Advice/Guidance Needed



I have been summoned for Jury duty at the Martin Luther King Jr Federal Courthouse in Newark on 50 Walnut St.

Has anyone served at this location? 


Guidance/expertise/advice would be appreciated as i have never attended ANY jury duty situation, let alone a Federal situation.

PARKING question/concerns for those who have participated in this location’s jury duty...... the guide i got in the mail says Jury parking is on Mulberry St near the building (on map quest i found it and it is marked as a specially “jury duty” parking lot.

But, and please excuse my ignorance, i have never actually parked somewhere with an attendant or validation before. So how does this work? I just drive in, park, and get some sort of slip from the man/woman sitting in that little security stall before leaving the parking lot (it is gated) so that i can get it validated once inside the courthouse? .... And then hand that to the attendant at the end of the day before i get in my car and leave the lot?

Also, if anyone has used this specific lot, what “ID” do i need to leave on my dashboard? A sign in the lot says “Jurors ID must be visible on dashboard”..... do they just mean a copy of that Juror badge i got in the mail with my juror number?

Any and all help would be appreciated on this. I searched the website they gave and all the Q&As the mailer provided but it is all just too basic.

I am an extremely anxious person and i really like to prepare ahead for everything. It will already be a stressful 1.5 hour drive (probably 2 hours with morning traffic on the Bloomfield Ave route i intend to take) to get there by 8:30am from where i live, so even the smallest details about the experience could put me at ease for when i get there. 


I really thank anyone who can help.


Most likely, all you need to do is present your jury summons to the parking lot attendant.


Is there a phone number for jury management on your jury duty notice?  If so, call it.  If not, call the general number for jury management at the Court House.  If they can't help you, they will be able to refer you to someone who can.


Show the papers you received for jury duty, to the parking attendant.  

Inside, ask the clerk who checks you in for jury duty, about getting your parking ticket validated, they'll probably do that right there.

Give the validated ticket to the parking attendant when you retrieve your car at the end of the day.


Bring something to read. You often wind up sitting around waiting to be called. There are TVs but  when you get called you can be sitting around again outside of the courtroom. Still its exciting being part of the process. 


No worries. You’ll drive into lot and can park in lot or parking deck. Either is immediately accessible and visible once you pull in. You’ll receive the parking ticket as you enter lot. Bring ticket in with you and you’ll get it validated once in the courthouse. Everybody will be in the line doing the same thing. It may all seem complicated but once there it will all be completely easy and obvious.

I drove straight down S Orange Ave from where I live and there is one entrance on SO Ave. If you’re concerned about finding the lot, perhaps you can take a dry run in advance. The lot is marked with large signs for juror parking.

Definitely bring reading material and phone charger. I brought my lunch daily but there’s a cafeteria.

At end of the day you’ll exit by showing the attendant your validated ticket.

(Bring your juror badge with you daily. It’s on your jury notice.)

Good luck.


And where are you driving from?


cubby said:

No worries. You’ll drive into lot and can park in lot or parking deck. Either is immediately accessible and visible once you pull in. You’ll receive the parking ticket as you enter lot. Bring ticket in with you and you’ll get it validated once in the courthouse. Everybody will be in the line doing the same thing. It may all seem complicated but once there it will all be completely easy and obvious.

I drove straight down S Orange Ave from where I live and there is one entrance on SO Ave. If you’re concerned about finding the lot, perhaps you can take a dry run in advance. The lot is marked with large signs for juror parking.

Definitely bring reading material and phone charger. I brought my lunch daily but there’s a cafeteria.

At end of the day you’ll exit by showing the attendant your validated ticket.

(Bring your juror badge with you daily. It’s on your jury notice.)

Good luck.

 Ty so much! This helped put me at ease. To your other comment/question: I am driving from Boonton in Morris County. I attended Bloomfield College for 4 years and commuted there every day so i am pretty comfortable with Bloomfield Avenue. So i figured i would take that route for this as well to avoid some anxiety and keep me comfortable and familiar (at least on the drive)



cubby said:

No worries. You’ll drive into lot and can park in lot or parking deck. Either is immediately accessible and visible once you pull in. You’ll receive the parking ticket as you enter lot. Bring ticket in with you and you’ll get it validated once in the courthouse. Everybody will be in the line doing the same thing. It may all seem complicated but once there it will all be completely easy and obvious.

I drove straight down S Orange Ave from where I live and there is one entrance on SO Ave. If you’re concerned about finding the lot, perhaps you can take a dry run in advance. The lot is marked with large signs for juror parking.

Definitely bring reading material and phone charger. I brought my lunch daily but there’s a cafeteria.

At end of the day you’ll exit by showing the attendant your validated ticket.

(Bring your juror badge with you daily. It’s on your jury notice.)

Good luck.

 The jury summons is for federal court, not county.

Rt. 78 to Rt 21  or   280 to Broad would be appropriate.

-- on second thought,  South Orange Avenue, straight onto Market. Then right onto Mulberry.


Barring any extremely unusual circumstances, there is no way driving to Newark will take you anywhere close to 90 minutes, let alone 2 hours. If you are this anxious, maybe take Uber?

Sorry, assumed maplewood but from Boonton, yes.


The advice I gave was based on my very recent experience as a petit juror (county). However, I think it still all applies. I agree that it won’t take 1 1/2-2 hours but if you’re anxious it’s better to feel you have plenty of time.


cubby said:

The advice I gave was based on my very recent experience as a petit juror (county). However, I think it still all applies. I agree that it won’t take 1 1/2-2 hours but if you’re anxious it’s better to feel you have plenty of time.

 The advice you gave was for a different court at a different location from the court referred to in the OP.  Nature/location of juror parking options, available cafeteria, etc. will be different.  If OP follows your directions, OP will end up at the wrong courthouse.  OP is coming from Boonton not Maplewood or South Orange.


I have had federal jury duty there at least three times, serving on juries twice. The parking is easy once you get there the first time and become better oriented. There are some one-way streets around there and the road in front of the courthouse is closed to traffic. I was never stopped by the attendant at this facility. You will park in the lot and walk to the main entrance to pass through the security check and report to the juror assembly area to sign in and for an orientation. In the past, they have a coffee/beverage station open. People bring lunch or buy lunch at one of many local food businesses in the neighborhood. If you are on a case, the judges usually grant 60-90 minutes for lunch. Good luck.


joan_crystal said:

cubby said:

The advice I gave was based on my very recent experience as a petit juror (county). However, I think it still all applies. I agree that it won’t take 1 1/2-2 hours but if you’re anxious it’s better to feel you have plenty of time.

 The advice you gave was for a different court at a different location from the court referred to in the OP.  Nature/location of juror parking options, available cafeteria, etc. will be different.  If OP follows your directions, OP will end up at the wrong courthouse.  OP is coming from Boonton not Maplewood or South Orange.

 Yikes! Sorry April Lynn! But I’m sure you’ll do fine following the instructions from others on MOL


cubby said:

 Yikes! Sorry April Lynn! But I’m sure you’ll do fine following the instructions from others on MOL

 It is alright! I appreciate you and everyone else trying to help


Sailorthom said:

I have had federal jury duty there at least three times, serving on juries twice. The parking is easy once you get there the first time and become better oriented. There are some one-way streets around there and the road in front of the courthouse is closed to traffic. I was never stopped by the attendant at this facility. You will park in the lot and walk to the main entrance to pass through the security check and report to the juror assembly area to sign in and for an orientation. In the past, they have a coffee/beverage station open. People bring lunch or buy lunch at one of many local food businesses in the neighborhood. If you are on a case, the judges usually grant 60-90 minutes for lunch. Good luck.


Thank you SO much for this. Since you have been at this exact location: are we allowed to have our phones while waiting around all day? I wanna make sure i have an easy way to kill time lol. 

Also, for the beverages, is there plenty of drinkable water around? Or perhaps vending machines with bottled water? It is all i drink all day so i wanna bring it with me if they dont have it easily accessible. 
 

Also, in your opinion, how are the bathroom facilities?

Thanks again!



Bathrooms are fine. People bring laptops, phones, etc. I think there is a small newstand in the building and some vending machines.


Bit of a thread drift - Does each county have a Federal Courthouse for federal crimes?  Judging (no pun intended) by where the OP lives, I assume the answer is no.  I find it hard to believe Newark is the only one in the state. 

ETA, What about Elizabeth or the Treton/Camden area? 


There is one in Trenton and one in Camden.


I served there once a long time ago and don't remember the parking logistics.  However, I believe that I recall that the jury pay is higher for Federal court than county court.  Please report back if I'm wrong about that and/or what the going rate is.


Just served - FTR, it took me a full hour to get to the parking deck. I left Maplewood at 815. Parked the car at 915. Why? because the mess at the parking deck. So yes, 90 mins isn't out of the question. 



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