SANTA FE – New Mexicans will soon receive a postcard, rather than a letter, when they are summoned to jury duty by a state court.

New Mexico is the first statewide court system to use a bilingual postcard summons with instructions for prospective jurors in English and Spanish. View a sample of the postcard here.

Starting next week, the Judiciary will begin mailing postcards to notify people when they have been ordered to jury duty by one of New Mexico's district or magistrate courts or the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court.

The summons features a QR code that can be scanned with a mobile phone camera, allowing people to access an online portal to complete a required questionnaire or request a postponement or excusal from jury service.

"We want to alert New Mexicans about the new look for the official jury summons because courts for decades have mailed letters in envelopes to inform people about jury duty," said Chief Justice David K. Thomson. "We have embraced technology to add convenient online features to the postcard summons to help people with their jury service."

On average, about 204,000 people – one in every 12 adults in the state – are called to jury duty each year. Switching to the postcard jury summons is estimated to save about $36,000 a year in paper and postage costs. The postcard measures 8½ inches by 5½ inches.

"Citizens play a vital role in making the American justice system work by serving on juries," said Chief Justice Thomson. "The constitutional right to a jury trial depends on people fulfilling their civic obligation when called upon to help administer justice in civil and criminal trials."

Prospective jurors must be at least 18 years old, a U.S. citizen, and reside in the county in which they may serve as jurors. Under the New Mexico Constitution, no citizen can be excluded from jury duty for an inability to speak or understand English. Courts provide interpreters to accommodate jurors who speak other languages.

People ordered to jury duty must complete their online questionnaire within 10 days of receiving a summons. In addition to the new QR code, the postcard summons lists a website address for people who want to use a web browser to link to the questionnaire and other information about jury duty.

Not every person summoned to jury duty will be required to go to a courthouse for possible selection to serve on a jury for a trial. Each court separately notifies summoned jurors if they must attend a jury selection. In 2024, 52,899 people reported to courthouses across the state but not all of those were selected to serve on a jury panel for a trial or grand jury. The computer database used by courts for summoning people to jury duty is based on names and addresses from voter registration information, state driving records and income tax filings. By law, New Mexico jurors are paid the state minimum wage of $12 an hour.

New Mexicans should beware of possible jury duty scams in which someone pretends to be a law enforcement officer or other official claiming that a person owes money for an outstanding fine for failing to appear for jury duty. New Mexico Courts will never call or email a person to demand money for resolving a court matter or to threaten arrest.