Jury Duty: Everything You Need to Know

Jury duty is a civic duty that all US citizens are expected to perform. When you are summoned by the court to serve on a jury, it will decide the outcome of a trial.

Because of the disruption and uncertainty, many people dread being called for jury duty. When you get the summon, you must attend jury selection, during which you may not even be selected. If selected, you must serve for the entire duration of the trial.

There are major differences between civil and criminal law. You will either sit as a juror in a civil trial, such as a personal injury case, or a criminal trial.

It is like being legally obligated to do a full-time job for a few days, earning below the minimum wage. As a juror, you must follow court instructions, listen, and consider all evidence carefully.

You must be very present, even if court proceedings are tedious or intimidating.

Toward the end, you must deliberate with your fellow jurors on the verdict. Your collective decision will impact the lives of the people (all strangers to you) involved in the case.

Juror pay and other practical matters

You get paid a minimum amount for every day you spend at jury selection and serve as a juror.

The minimum amount varies from state to state. It ranges from $15 to $60 per day. Each state has its own jury selection rules and requirements as it relates to the following issues:

• Juror pay and possible reimbursements
• Excuses that work or don’t work
• Employer obligations to you while you are serving
• Jury types: the verdict (unanimous or not) expected of the jury
• Information on courthouses in your area

The courthouse provides free meals and refreshments for jurors. If you need help sitting, the court may accommodate your needs.

Do the courts provide free parking?

It varies by state and courthouse. Generally, courts do not provide free parking, but some courthouses might. Some states offer mileage reimbursement or provide parking validations. Always check with your specific courthouse for parking details.

How long does a trial last?

No one can say for sure. Most trials last from a few days to three weeks. Some rare trials, though, may take three to six months. If this occurs, the court will make the necessary arrangements.

Does the court provide free meals and accommodation?

The court provides free meals and refreshments. You can bring your own food if you have dietary requirements. For some multi-day trials, the court may also provide accommodation if necessary.

How often would I be called for jury duty?

For some people, never. For some others, maybe once every two years or less frequently.

Is juror pay taxable?

Yes. The IRS considers it taxable income.

Getting selected as a juror

Many factors influence your chance of getting selected. Many of these factors are out of your control.

Getting included on the jury roll

First, a state’s jury roll compiles the names from the driver’s license and voter registration records. When you receive a jury summons, it’s essential to read the instructions carefully and respond promptly to avoid any legal repercussions.

During the jury selection process, prospective jurors are questioned to determine their suitability for serving on a particular case.

Criteria 1: have a driver’s license

You may not be included in the jury roll if you have no driver’s license.

According to Statista, you would be among roughly 30% of residents without a driver’s license.

Criteria 2: registered as a voter of the state you’re living in

Your name will only be on the voter roll if you have registered as a voter. Hence, neither would it be on the jury roll.

It also applies to you as a non-citizen (Green Card or temporary visa holder). Note that some municipalities in California and Maryland do allow non-citizens to vote in local elections, so if you have registered for that, you may be summoned, but whether you can serve as a juror (only for citizens) remains doubtful.

Based on these two criteria alone, two to three in ten US adults would only be summoned for jury duty if their names were in the records.

When you satisfy these two criteria, you are more likely to get called for jury selection.

When summoned, you must report to court for jury selection. Failure to attend will result in fines or jail time. The jury commissioner is responsible for managing the jury selection process and ensuring that a sufficient number of jurors are available for upcoming trials.

Presenting at court

You will receive in advance a notice by mail regarding jury selection. It will be on a weekday, so if you work a regular job, inform your employer.

Your employer must allow you to go without consequences, but depending on the state, they may not have to pay you.

Many people hate jury duty because they will lose earnings. Some cannot afford to lose any day of work. (See how to get out of jury duty below)

Getting to the court may take a lot of work, depending on where you live. You may use it as an excuse if inconvenient, but it will likely be deemed insufficient.

Some states limit the maximum distance you have to travel for jury duty. In California, it is within 20 miles of the court. If your residence is outside that perimeter, you may use it as an excuse for dismissal. However, some will have to travel 200 miles in northern Michigan, but you may get free accommodation if chosen (called ‘impaneled’).

Jury Assembly Room

At the court, you will wait in a jury assembly room. This big room can hold hundreds of people, so be prepared to wait a few hours. If you suffer from anxiety and have difficulty functioning in crowds or large groups of people, make sure to inform the jury assembly clerk.

You are allowed to leave at lunchtime and report back on time afterward.

Most of us detest waiting. An assembly room with hundreds of people at a time can be noisy and uncomfortable.

Some states have invested in upgrading their jury assembly rooms. The current amenities allow you to do remote work on a laptop.

Jury Selection – The voir dire process

You are summoned to a courtroom with several others when it is your turn. Here, you will meet the judge, the court clerk, the bailiff, and the lawyers on both sides.

The presiding judge oversees the trial, ensures the proceedings are fair, and provides jurors with instructions on how to deliberate. As a prospective juror, you may be questioned about your background and potential biases to determine if you can serve impartially.

Many experienced criminal defense trial attorneys believe that jury selection is essential to the trial. Law firms hire jury consultants to assist the lawyers in choosing the jurors.

You will fill out a questionnaire and answer questions from the judge and the lawyers.

The questions determine whether you could participate in the trial impartially.

They are looking for jurors with fair and open minds who can consider all evidence and then, and only then, make a careful verdict.

The jury questions may include the following:

• Do you know anyone involved in the case? It consists of the court staff, the attorneys, the defendants, the plaintiffs, and the witnesses.
• Questions about your sentiment and experience with law enforcement: have you received fair treatment from the justice system? What do you think about the police?
• Your beliefs and understanding of the nature of the case and the law.

If the judge thought you might have a bias or conflict against any side, they would dismiss you.

The lawyers look for people who may favor their side. They may dismiss you if they deem you are different from the type to be easily swayed by their arguments. Reporters, journalists, lawyers, police officers (and other professionals depending on their expertise) have reported that they were rarely chosen as jurors.

Your opinions and expertise may skew the jury’s collective judgment. How? A jury often has to reach a unanimous decision – every view counts. Everyone has to agree on one single verdict. If you were the outlier, you would have to convince the rest to join your side or find a way to agree with them.

Imagine Barack Obama was on your jury. If he was convinced the defendant was guilty, would it be easier for you or other jurors to disagree? Now, consider the same question, only this time imagine Donald Trump was on your jury?

The weight of their words would be enough to sway many people, and the jury might not be able to independently consider the case.

Expert Knowledge

Likewise, suppose you have expert knowledge of the subject matter. In that case, the lawyers eliminate you to lower the risk of using your expertise to influence the jury.

For example, if one key piece of evidence was a breathalyzer test in a drunk driving accident case, and you were a chemist who may know a lot about measuring alcohol volume, depending on the facts, one of the two lawyers would likely want you off the case.

Another example: if the case involved medical malpractice and you were a doctor who had been successfully sued five times, then the plaintiff’s lawyer would want to prevent you from leading the jury to unfairly favor the doctor in the case by convincing the judge to strike you off the case.

Remember that even if a lawyer favors you, the other lawyer can still remove you. It would help if both lawyers and the judge approved you.

Below, we go deeper into the controversies around jury selection.

After the voir dire, you will report to the meeting room and await further instructions. You may be called again for another case or be sent home.

How to get out of jury duty

Jury duty can be tedious and disruptive. If impaneled, you will have to present at court for several weekdays. In the rare unfortunate cases where the trial lasts for weeks or months, you may be sequestered from your daily life to ensure case confidentiality.

Understandably, some of us want to get out of jury duty.

Note that many people still need to be selected. Even if you do, some trials only start weeks or months later.

Before attending jury selection:

Note that certain professions are exempt from jury duty. For example, physicians, dentists, nurses, and volunteer firefighters are exempt in Alabama.

You can also write an excuse letter if you are serious about being unable to attend. However, simply submitting a letter does not mean you are excused – it is up to the court to accept it.

At the jury selection:

During the voir dire, when you are asked to state any reason that makes you unfit to serve, you may cite the following:

• Personal connections: know anyone involved in the case
• Care-taking responsibilities (if you are the sole caretaker)
• Financial hardship: can’t afford to lose earnings from missed work
• Physical impediments: can’t sit for hours due to health reasons
• Mental impairments: can’t read, can’t hear clearly
• Language ability: can’t understand English well enough to participate
• Unwillingness
• Personal or work commitments that may cause undue hardship

Many people have reported that these excuses do not work – you still have to serve despite the disruptions and inconvenience. But do try; you may get lucky.

Remember that you have to take an oath to be truthful. Make sure your excuse is valid.

 What if none of these excuses work for me?

The last adequate excuse is to prove that you cannot make fair judgments for the case.

To understand how you might use this excuse, you should know about the two ways the lawyers can dismiss you:

• Challenge for cause
• Peremptory challenge (challenge without having to show cause)

No matter which type, the dismissals are primarily out of your control. Try your best not to take it personally.

What is a challenge for cause?

The lawyer must convince the judge that you are predisposed by your life experiences to harbor an intractable prejudice against either side of the case. Hence, considering all evidence, you cannot be counted upon to deliver a fair verdict.

The lawyer has to explain why they deem you an unfair juror. It would help if you made this easy for them.

Remember, though, that your prejudice must be actual somehow.

What is a peremptory challenge?

Each lawyer is allowed a few times to dismiss potential jurors with just a hunch. They do not need to convince the judge.

When questioned, you may leave the impression that you are not a good choice. But this can be uncertain since the lawyers give no reason why.

What are the consequences for missing jury duty?

The website JuryDuty101 has information on the consequences of missing jury duty for each state.

You would likely get a fine, a few days in jail, or community service.

For those who want to serve on jury duty

Many people want to serve because they believe in a trial by an impartial jury of their peers and because they gain satisfaction from fulfilling their civic duties.

Advice for those who want to get selected during the voir dire:

• Give as little information as possible
• Do not volunteer opinions
• Do not show a sense of who you are or your education
• Do not give them any reason to dismiss you

What if you still get dismissed?

Getting dismissed can feel personal or even hurt when you want to serve.

Admittedly, the case may have details that automatically exclude you from the jury, but you are not privy to them.

Another reason is the lawyers’ strategies. John Oliver, the host of Last Week Tonight, has raised an important point: who do we mean by ‘peers’ in “a jury of one’s peers”? Is it the defendant’s peers or the prosecutor’s peers? Fairness is a slippery concept here.

The jury should consist of a representative cross-section of the population—that is, it should be as diverse as the county’s demographics.

However, in practice, many lawyers look for people who are a clean slate for them to write on. The lawyers want to win the case, so going the extra mile to ensure a diverse and fair trial may not be their top priority.

The problems with jury selection

• Jury selection can be controversial, and you are not in control.
• People have reported that lawyers tend to get the most favorable jurors, i.e., the ones who are the least thoughtful or informed about the subject matter relevant to the case.
• Having expertise or authority on the subject matter would count against you. So, if you were a doctor and the case was a robbery with no medical knowledge required, then you have a chance.
• Race has also influenced a lawyer’s choice of jury. With a peremptory challenge, they spend seconds dismissing a potential juror. The judge can question their challenge, but if they give any race-neutral reason, such as demeanor or accent, their challenge will be approved.
• If you are a minority citizen who relies on public transport, has encountered a problem in registering to vote, or cannot afford to miss work due to a low income, you would have to jump through hoops to even get there for jury selection. Millions of citizens in the same circumstance would also be excluded from this civic experience from the outset.
• A lack of jury diversity has hurt minority defendants. Potential biases are inherent in a homogeneous jury. Re-balancing the jury pool with citizens from diverse backgrounds would require reforming the state records and the jury selection process.

Is it time for reform?

A multiracial jury has been known to lessen individual biases or prejudices, contributing to a fairer trial. Here is a cause you can get behind.

There are reasons for optimism. The highly publicized trial of Derek Chauvin, the policeman who killed a Black man while on camera, had a racially diverse jury than the county where it was held. Here is an account of the impaneled jurors’ responses during jury selection (no names mentioned). The jurors found the defendant guilty after ten hours of deliberation over two days.

Juror experience in the courtroom

The jury goes through three stages:

1. Listen to the trial
2. Deliberate among each other to reach a verdict
3. Deliver the verdict

The jury decides the outcome of the trial. It gets to say ‘guilty’ or ‘not guilty.’ The judge decides on the charges according to the jury’s verdict.

The jury experience often leaves a lasting impression on the jurors. For a few days, they are privy to the confidential details of a case that would bear severe consequences for the lives of the defendants and the plaintiffs in the future.

Hearing the trial

On the days of the trial, you have to arrive on time. You will be seated in the jury box. You are allowed to take notes but not use your phone or the internet.

If you are found using other sources to learn or share any information about the trial before it ends, you will likely be dismissed.

Jurors are expected to report at the courthouse at 8:30 a.m., and the trials start at 9 a.m.

Some jurors said that they got generous lunch breaks, around two hours. They also took more minor breaks when the judge needed to talk to the lawyers. They went home at around 4 p.m. every afternoon.

Juror concerns about safety:

Concern: “I’m worried about getting targeted by bad people.”

Answer: For trials involving gang members with connections from the outside, you can request protection from the court.

The judge may arrange to sequester a jury, but this is costly and inconvenient for you and the court. Otherwise, from a juror’s experience, their jury was assigned reserved parking spots in a nearby garage.

Every afternoon, when they left the courthouse, they were escorted by Deputy Sheriffs to their cars.

They were each assigned an officer who followed them home and was stationed outside their residences every night until the trial ended.

Deliberation – The Jury Room

After the lawyers give their closing arguments, the jury is led into a meeting room to discuss the case. In the jury room, jurors will meet to discuss the case privately, review evidence, and work towards a unanimous decision.

A foreman is designated to take notes and lead the discussion. Once the trial concludes, the judge will provide jury instructions to guide the jurors on how to deliberate and what legal standards to apply when reaching a verdict.

Once the judge instructs the jury, they will begin deliberations and reach a verdict based on the evidence presented during the trial.

It would help if you only considered the facts. You can request transcripts of the testimonies to help you separate the facts from the arguments or opinions.

You can refer to the information presented in court, and only that. You are not allowed to use the internet or outside sources to help you form your judgment.

Be aware of your own implicit bias. The jury should be diverse so everyone can help each other reconsider how certain prejudices may distort judgments.

Some trials require the jury to make a unanimous decision. That means everyone has to agree on the verdict, either guilty or not guilty.

If everyone cannot reach a unanimous decision, the judge often tells the jury to try harder.

A hung jury

What if the jury cannot reach a verdict, even after long hours of deliberation? Then, this is a hung jury.

A hung jury does not deliver a verdict, forcing the judge to declare a mistrial. The case must be tried again with a new jury.

This outcome is undesirable. A juror reported that their deliberation turned into angry arguments that exhausted everyone.

Try to avoid a hung jury, but accept that it happens occasionally.

The members of your jury play a key role here. Some are confident with their judgment and are determined to convert the opponents to their side. Some others do not care as much – they may make careless decisions based on inconsequential details, such as whether the defendant seemed so charming that they could not have committed the crime.

Statistic: According to the Court Statistics Project, hung juries occur in about 6% of all criminal jury trials.

Deliver the verdict

Once the jury has decided, everyone gathers in the courtroom for the verdict.

The foreman hands the verdict to the court clerk, who reads it aloud.

After that, the judge issues the charges based on the jury’s verdict.

It is an unforgettable moment of the entire trial—seeing how your collective decision would have consequences on both sides.

Is jury duty a worthwhile experience?

Jury duty is a fascinating, memorable, and impactful experience. What happens in court is generally different from their portrayals in the movies. It is where you see justice in action and are a part of it. You and other jurors get to call the shot – the ones who determine the verdict and directly impact other people’s lives.

You would gain insights into the human condition in a high-stake situation. Your hours in the trial are filled with facts, arguments, testimonies, and reactions from people who often have much to lose (or win).

You would also get a glimpse into the psychology of your jury:

• While all are strangers to each other, a group dynamic emerges in which some dominate.
• Some follow.
• Some stand as holdouts against all.

It is a journey of learning more about your community and fellow citizens.

Your opinion truly counts. Especially when a unanimous verdict is required, even if you are the only one who thinks differently, the jury is still hung. It may frustrate others, but it also means your vote matters tangibly.

Jury duty is not unique to the USA or a common practice worldwide. The majority of the world’s population does not enjoy this privilege. Enshrined in the Sixth Amendment, it is one of the many rights that set US citizens apart.

For many immigrants, receiving the summons for jury duty is one of those momentous moments when they are recognized as citizens – something they have worked hard for. It will be a waste of your rights if you do not use it when you can.

Pragmatic people may be reminded that getting out of jury duty may incur more trouble than just doing it. And if one day we ended up in the courtroom, we would want an impartial jury to listen to our concerns and make a fair and considered decision that would affect the rest of our lives.

Concerning practical matters, jury duty is most worthwhile when you receive full pay from your employer, keep the court’s stipend, do not mind the commute, and get selected to serve.

If you do not enjoy such luck, then yes, jury duty can become a nuisance. Jury selection can be tedious, and the time away from your daily life may cause disruptions. You may need more trust in the justice system or be unfortunate to have a bad experience with the judge or fellow jurors.

After all, this boils down to personal experience and values.

It is part of American life, just like voting or paying taxes.

Please serve on jury duty when it is your turn

Jury duty is rare when we are called to do something unusual. Jury service is a fundamental civic duty that ensures the legal system operates fairly and justly, relying on the participation of ordinary citizens.

A jury trial is a cornerstone of the American legal system, allowing defendants to be judged by a group of their peers. Despite the flaws, we have it for now, and reforms are ongoing.

Please serve – the trust in our public institutions builds upon small contributions such as this.

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