What should I expect at Jury Duty?

Get to the courthouse a bit early. There will probably be a special parking area for jurors. Be sure to use that, and put any placard in your windshield that you’re directed to, or you might get a ticket… or worse.

When you try to enter the courthouse, obviously you can’t have any weapons on your person. You’ll go through a metal detector. You will probably have to surrender your cell phone, so if you’re used to keeping that with you then you might want to leave it in your car (assuming you drive yourself).

After you get into the courthouse there will either be people or signs to direct you to the jury pool room. You’ll sign in and do whatever they tell you to do there, and then sit and wait for a bit.

When most of the jurors have been processed into the pool, there will be an instruction period. This varies from state to state, since (at the state level, which is what I’m assuming), you’ll be instructed on your state’s court system.

After this, there may be a Q&A period, and after that the clerks will start to form jury pools. You may or may not be called. If you’re not called, then you’ll be dismissed after the passage of some time when they determine that they won’t need you.

If you’re called to serve on a jury, then you’ll be following the judge’s instructions in that court.

It can be a fun process. Pay attention and enjoy it.

You too? They got me for 2/1.

They should have sent you a survey or something with the things that disqualify you. Being a student is one of those things. All you should have to do is identify yourself as a student right off (take a printout of your schedule and/or the enrollment certification that you use for insurance) and they should let you go. They don’t know how long the trial is going to last, so even if you’re free this week, they should let you go.

In addition, the questionnaire I got had a question about being religiously or morally opposed to judging people. You can figure out what to do with that.

You are only excused so many times as a student; it’ll catch up to you sooner or later so just bite the bullet and get it over with.
Take something to do, because with jury duty, what you’ll most likely end up facing is a whole lot of waiting.
(I used my jury duty time catching up on my hulu =P)

A golden opportunity to make the U.S. justice system work. Do well.

@CyanoticWasp Thanks a lot for the GA! Damn, I’ll miss my phone:(
@avvooooooo What’s 2/1? Unfortunately my survey didn’t have those options.

By the way, I’m in MA if that helps.

@sliceswiththings Really great question! :) +GQ

I agree wholeheartedly with @austinlad. Trial by a jury of 12 peers (which thankfully has never been necessary for me) is just one of many, many reasons I’m thankful to be an American.

I have been up three times. Twice I sat in the waiting room all day, then went home. Once I was sent to a courtroom, sat all day, answered some questions and then went home.

—Plan to spend the entire day. You may or may not get out earlier
—Take something to read, you may be there all day
—Dress like you might meet a prospective date or employer, because you might. Unlikely, but why not be prepared?
—Students don’t get a deferral in my experience. When I was in the courtroom, nobody was excused. Work, children, school…no excuses.

If you are called into the courtroom (empanelled), they will publicly question prospective jurors one-by-one. Name, occupation, previous experience as a juror/defendant/plaintiff, friends/family in law enforcement, familiarity with the defendant/plaintiff, etc.

The defense or prosecution can dismiss you based on the Q&A session. Once they have 12 (plus 1 or 2 alternates), everybody else goes home.

@Owl and @Austinlad I agree wholeheartedly. I would love to be put on a jury, but it’s just terrible timing. This is literally the only week I have to work, and I really need money (work is a week-long substitute teaching job, so it’s all or nothing, if I can’t make it Tuesday I lose the whole thing). I hope that one day I can serve on a jury.

@sliceswiththings February 1. :)

Also, @CyanoticWasp mentioned I’ll go through a metal detector. Will my titanium wrist implant set it off?? I hope so! I haven’t tested it yet.

@noelasun No, that’s not accurate. As long as you’re in school and can prove you’re a student, there is not a limit on how many times you can be excused for it.

@jaytkay If you are the primary care provider for a child or elderly person (and can’t get a sitter), as well as being a student, you are excused.

Boredom.

If you are the primary care provider for a child or elderly person (and can’t get a sitter), as well as being a student, you are excused?

That depends on the jurisdiction. When I was in Los Angeles County, no, they would not excuse you for that. They had a problem filling juries, so they instituted tough rules.

Long hours of waiting. They pull lots of people, and they keep you waiting because most of the background stuff cannot be viewed by the jury pool. I went through a month of being on call and never served. It’s very likely you won’t be called to serve on any Jury. Bring a book.

The rules vary from state to state and also may change over time. Here you can only be on call for a week. But you can get called again in a year’s time. Why not look at the website (if there is one for the court system that called you) and see what it says?

Also, being on call does not necessarily mean you have to report. Do you have a group number and instructions to check a phone number or website at a certain time and see if you have to report?

Yeah I called the hotline and all groups need to report. My friend was put on a jury and vetoed merely for being young. I’m 21 but look younger (which I can play up), so maybe the same will happen to me?

On call for a week, ouch! My counties have had a one-day or one-trial per year rule. If you go wait around for a day, you are excused for a year.If you are chosen for a jury, you are excused for a year.

And I have only been called 3 years out of the past 20.

@Spinel Thanks!

I’ve been on jury duty twice. I got questioned both times but wasn’t picked for the jury. The first case I was called for I really would have liked to have been seated. It sounded interesting. The second was a drunk driving case that didn’t souns interesting at all. The process lasted about four hours before I was sent home. Its pretty inconvienent, but very interesting.

Anything involving the judicial system generally requires long periods of waiting. Bring a crossword. Just be honest and answer their questions. It’s an honor and a civic duty and one of the rare instances along with voting that we can contribute to this great nation.

boredom

I got called 3 years ago for the first time. I arrived by 9 a.m. By noon, I was sitting on a jury. The trial was a guy that had set fire to a disabled doctor. It involved drugs, sex, arson, murder. It was really pretty interesting. I sat on the jury for 2 weeks. Because it was a murder trial, I was exonerated for 1 year from being called again.

O m G…you gotta hear this! The computer in California selected me for Dec 24th…I still called because they give you an ID number so they know you called!

Definitely bring a book. Maybe even bring two books if you are a fast reader.

Also be prepared to sit very, very closely to two people you do not know and that who may have different standards of personal hygiene from you. I don’t know how MA handles all those layers of winter clothes because I live where it rarely freezes for more than a day or two every few years.

In checking out the Massachusetts Juror Service Website I see that Massachusetts says that:

“There are no exemptions from jury duty: doctors, police officers, students, and even judges are eligible to serve as jurors.”

However, per this site it looks as though the odds are in your favor:

“Although eighty-five percent of those who appear complete their jury service in just one day and ninety-five percent finish in three days, prospective jurors are advised to set aside three days in the event they are impaneled on a trial.”

However, according to this you can postpone your jury service so that you can work. You might have to miss a few classes if you postpone, but your teachers may be understanding if you explain that you have been called to do your civic duty.

Apparently, in Massachusetts they have a one day/one trial set up. You serve for one day, or for one trial, and then are exempt from being called for three years.