ABA Family Legal Guide

How the Legal System Works

The Civil Trial: Step by Step

Juries

What if I am called for jury duty?

If you are randomly selected to serve as a juror, you should recognize that it is an opportunity to serve your community by participating in the justice system. Remember that juries need to be representative of the community from which they are selected and that service by everyone assists in achieving that goal.

If you are called for jury service, you should inform your employer and report to the court as instructed on the jury summons. The law requires your employer to permit you to take time off from work to perform your jury duty, although you may be excused from jury service on the basis of hardship.

Jury service is becoming less burdensome than it used to be, due to an increase in the amount that jurors are paid, continuation by many employers of jurors' regular salaries for some period, and adoption in some jurisdictions of much shorter terms of jury service, known as one day-one trial in many states. Many jurisdictions also have provisions that provide that a juror will not be selected again for a specified number of years after serving.