The jury selection process

The jury selection process for a particular trial begins as soon as people with realistic excuses are allowed to leave the courtroom. The remaining individuals are kept in a group and are chosen for the next tests. They will line you up in a particular order and send specific groups to the courtroom to be received and instructed by the judge. These instructions are usually quite long, lasting anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour.

Although standard juries only use 12 people, you will notice that there is room for up to 14 people in the jury box to include alternates. Alternates are chosen in the event the judge removes a juror for misconduct or breach of restrictions.

See Say – Questioning

After being led into the courtroom, he will eventually be questioned. At first you will take an oath, using the usual oath that commits you to tell the truth. The following questions are chosen to help you decide whether or not you will be biased in the deliberation of a particular case. If the case involves a school teacher, the judge wants to make sure that no jury is biased for or against the school teacher, which means that if you are a teacher, you are likely to be exonerated.

In addition, the judge and attorneys will ask you questions about your family and friends, making sure that you do not know anyone in the system who may bias your decision or make it impossible to maintain your impartiality during the trial. Other questions may include whether you believe in the jury system and the fairness of the law. Attorneys may also submit questions of their own that target specific traits of jurors that they find detrimental; in certain cases, you can expect to be asked some personal questions.

jury selection

After the question period, the judge will excuse the group of potential jurors for a moment and begin to review their responses and whether they are fit to hear the particular case or should be dismissed.

Counsel for either side are also allowed a certain number of “peremptory challenges” designed to give them the free choice to excuse any juror they wish for any reason. They are often used by either side to excuse any juror who may appear detrimental to their case.

Once the jury selection process is complete, the jurors will be called back to the courtroom and presented before the judge. Later, they will be located in a private seat inside the jury box. Alternatives will also be chosen and the rest of those who reported for jury duty will be excused for the remainder of the day, though they will continue to call until their jury duty period is complete.