Rule 2.510.Juror Personal History Questionnaire

Current through May 1, 2026 · Last verified July 6, 2026

In one sentenceRule 2.510 requires every prospective Michigan juror to complete a standard personal history questionnaire before jury service, limits who may examine a completed questionnaire, sets a 3-year retention period, and governs how jurors are summoned to court.

Full Text of Rule 2.510

Text sizeJump to: (A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

(A) Form. The state court administrator shall adopt a juror personal history questionnaire.

(B) Completion of Questionnaire.

(1) The court clerk or the jury board, as directed by the chief judge, shall supply each juror drawn for jury service with a questionnaire in the form adopted pursuant to subrule (A). The court clerk or the jury board shall direct the juror to complete the questionnaire before the juror is called for service.

(2) Refusal to answer the questions on the questionnaire, or answering the questionnaire falsely, is contempt of court.

(1) On completion, the questionnaire shall be returned to the court clerk or the jury board, as designated under subrule (B)(1). The only persons allowed to examine the questionnaire are:

(a) the judges of the court;

(b) the court clerk and deputy clerks;

(d) persons authorized access by court rule or by court order.

(2) The attorneys must be given a reasonable opportunity to examine the questionnaires before being called on to challenge for cause.

(a) The state court administrator shall develop model procedures for providing attorneys and parties reasonable access to juror questionnaires.

(b) Each court shall select and implement one of these procedures by local administrative order adopted pursuant to MCR 8.112(B). If the state court administrator determines that, given the circumstances existing in an individual court, the procedure selected does not provide reasonable access, the state court administrator may direct the court to implement one of the other model procedures.

(c) If the procedure selected allows attorneys or parties to receive copies of juror questionnaires, an attorney or party may not release them to any person who would not be entitled to examine them under subrule (C)(1).

(3) The questionnaires must be maintained for 3 years from the time they are returned. They may be created and maintained in any medium authorized by court rules pursuant to MCR 1.109.

(D) Summoning Jurors for Court Attendance. The court clerk, the court administrator, the sheriff, or the jury board, as designated by the chief judge, shall summon jurors for court attendance at the time and in the manner directed by the chief judge. For a juror's first required court appearance, service must be by written notice addressed to the juror at the juror's residence as shown by the records of the clerk or jury board. The notice may be by ordinary mail or by personal service. For later service, notice may be in the manner directed by the court. The person giving notice to jurors shall keep a record of the notice and make a return if directed by the court. The return is presumptive evidence of the fact of service.

(E) Special Provision Pursuant to MCL 600.1324. If a city located in more than one county is entirely within a single district of the district court, jurors shall be selected for court attendance at that district from a list that includes the names and addresses of jurors from the entire city, regardless of the county where the juror resides or the county where the cause of action arose.

End

Amendment History

Michigan tracks the orders that adopt and amend its Court Rules in a separate administrative record rather than printing a history note beneath each rule in the compiled rules text reproduced here. The text above is verified current through the source’s own May 1, 2026 update; for the full order-by-order history of this rule, see the Michigan Supreme Court’s rules and orders page.

Plain-English Summary

Before anyone sits as a juror, the court clerk or jury board has them complete a personal history questionnaire, using a form the state court administrator adopts statewide; refusing to answer, or answering falsely, is contempt of court. Once completed, the questionnaire goes back to the clerk or jury board, and only a defined circle of people can examine it: the court's judges, the clerk and deputy clerks, the parties and attorneys in cases where that particular juror is called to serve, and anyone else authorized by rule or court order. Attorneys have to get a reasonable chance to review the questionnaires before they're asked to exercise challenges for cause, following one of several model access procedures the state court administrator develops and each court adopts locally; if an attorney or party does receive copies, they can't hand them to anyone who wouldn't otherwise be allowed to see them. Completed questionnaires stick around for 3 years after they're returned.

Separately, the rule covers how jurors get called to court: the clerk, court administrator, sheriff, or jury board, as the chief judge designates, summons jurors for attendance, with a juror's first required appearance triggered by written notice mailed or personally served to their home address on file, and later notices following whatever method the court directs; the summoning process keeps a record of notice given, and a return of that notice counts as presumptive proof it was served. A special provision handles jury pools for a city split across county lines but entirely within a single district court district, drawing jurors from the whole city regardless of which county they live in or where the underlying case arose.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens if I refuse to answer the juror questionnaire, or lie on it?

Refusing to answer, or answering falsely, is treated as contempt of court.

Who is allowed to see a completed juror questionnaire?

Only the court's judges, the clerk and deputy clerks, the parties and attorneys in a case where that juror is called to serve, and anyone else authorized by court rule or order.

How long does the court keep juror questionnaires?

3 years from the time they're returned to the clerk or jury board.

Source & verification. The rule text is reproduced verbatim from the official Michigan Court Rules (MCR 2.510). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Michigan (Mich. Const. 1963, art. VI, § 5). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 6, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: juror questionnaire Michiganjuror personal history form