How Are Jurors Picked to Serve on a Jury?

Jurors are ultimately selected through a process known as "voir dire."

The Sixth Amendment protects the ability of Americans to be tried by a jury in criminal cases of sufficient magnitude; some civil trials are also tried by juries. The exact method of jury selection differs depending on the trial venue, however, the selection method is similar for all jury trials. At the federal level, the procedure used for jury selection is established by the Jury Selection and Service Act.

Initial Eligiility

A pool of potential jurors is first drawn from a list of eligible citizens in the district of the court. In most cases, this pool is randomly drawn from a list of registered voters or drivers. At the federal level, potential jurors must be U.S. citizens, at least 18 years old, "adequately proficient" in English, have resided primarily in the judicial district for at least a year, have no "disqualifying" physical or mental condition and not be currently facing felony charges or have been convicted of a felony. Additionally, individuals on active duty in the armed forces, members of professional police or fire departments and full-time public officials are exempt from jury duty.

Jury Summons

A summons is issued to each potential juror for a case. The operations department of the Massachusetts Office of Jury Commissioner, for example, processes about 3,000 summons reply forms each day and issues 1.2 million summons each year. When responding to a summons, potential jurors are provided with a reminder of the date they're scheduled to appear at the court.

Voir Dire

Jurors for a specific case are selected by a process known as voir dire. In voir dire, attorneys for both sides formally examine potential jurors with a judge present to determine the potential jurors suitability to decide the case fairly. Standard questions explore potential jurors' personal background, their knowledge of the case and its participants and any biases that would hinder them from rendering impartial judgment in the case. Attorneys can also issue a limited number of peremptory challenges to remove potential jurors from consideration without providing a specific reason.

Differences in Voir Dire Across States

The process of jury selection through voir dire differs by state, according to a 2007 study from the National Center for State Courts. In South Carolina, voir dire usually lasts 30 minutes, compared to 16 hours in Connecticut. States vary in the amount of information about potential jurors provided to lawyers prior to voir dire. In Alaska, attorneys know little about potential jurors prior to jury selection; in Minnesota, attorneys know a potential juror's marital status.

References

• U.S. Courts: Frequently Asked Questions
• USLegal: Bench Trials
• U.S. Courts: Jury Service
• Cornell University Law School; Legal Information Institute; U.S. Code Title 28, Title 28, Chapter 121
• U.S. Courts: Juror Qualifications
• U.S. District Court - Northern District of Illinois; Standard Voir Dire Questions; Sidney I. Schienkier; March 23, 1999

Resources

• Law.com; Jury Practices Vary Widely across the Nation; Vesna Jacsik; May 8, 2007
• National Center for State Courts; The State-of-the-States Survey...; Gregory Mize, et al; April 2007
• Office of the Jury Commissioner of the State of Massachusetts: Summonsing to Service