How long jury selection

An example of this is if the juror has a personal or financial relationship with a party. In addition, each side may excuse a limited number of jurors by peremptory challenge. A peremptory challenge is the right of the prosecution or defendant to remove a certain number of jurors without giving any reason or cause. If you are excused either for cause or because of a peremptory challenge, you should not take it personally or be offended. You may still be selected to sit on another jury. If you are selected to be on a jury, you will be given the date and time of the trial.

Final Selection Seven jurors will be chosen. One person is an alternate juror in case someone cannot complete the trial. Before deliberations one juror will be dismissed from the panel. Jury Selection. Jury Tips. East Lansing City Hall. General Qualifications for Jury Service. Code of Criminal Procedure, Articles If you have any doubts as to your eligibility to serve on a jury, contact the judge or court as indicated on your jury summons.

You must follow the instructions on your jury summons or contact the judge to find out what you need to do to be exempted from jury service.

A district court judge may permanently or temporarily exempt from jury service a person with a physical or mental impairment or with an inability to comprehend or communicate in the English language that makes it impossible or very difficult to serve on a jury. You need to contact the judge or the court to be exempted on this basis. A prospective juror must be released entirely or rescheduled if the juror is required to appear in court on a religious holy day that is observed by the juror.

You need to contact the judge or the court to be excused on this basis. The judge may give you an opportunity to discuss any individual personal hardships that jury service may cause to you. The court has the discretion to hear any reasonable sworn excuse of a prospective juror and either release the juror from jury service or reschedule the juror's jury service for another day. However, the court may not excuse a juror for an economic reason unless each party of record is present and approves the release.

Listen for the judge to give you instructions about when to come forward to discuss your need to be excused based on some hardship. When you report for jury service, you will likely find that there are well-trained court personnel available to assist you and to answer any questions that you may have concerning jury duty.

You can also expect to receive a brief orientation in the courtroom or in the jury assembly room regarding jury service. Listen carefully and follow the instructions given by court personnel and the judge. With your cooperation and attention to detail, the jury selection process may run smoother and be completed faster.

Some courthouses may have additional accommodations for you, such as internet access, lap to stations, and reading. You will need to check with your local courthouse regarding special amenities. To ensure the safety of everyone at the courthouse, expect to be screened through a metal detector and X-ray unit. Entering the courthouse with a prohibited weapon is against the law. Pointed items, such as pocket knives or knitting needles, are not permitted in the courthouse.

Anything considered to be a weapon or that is deemed unacceptable by the security staff will be confiscated. However, the Commissioners Court of a county may choose to reduce or eliminate the daily compensation for prospective jurors who attend court for only one day without actually serving on a jury. Your local court will provide you with information regarding the existence and extent of any of these programs. Both you and other prospective jurors who report for jury service will be given an opportunity to voluntarily donate your juror pay to certain local or state charitable causes.

When you report for jury service, you should receive or request a form that allows you to direct the county treasurer to donate your reimbursement for jury service to a designated charity or fund which should include:.

Your employer is not required to pay you for any time that you missed from work due to jury service. However, your employer cannot fire you while you are fulfilling your civic duty. An employer who terminates, threatens to terminate, penalizes, or threatens to penalize an employee because the employee performs jury duty is subject to sanctions for contempt of court and payment of damages to the employee. The length of jury service will vary considerably for summoned jurors.

While the jury selection process may require your attendance for a day or a fraction of a day, jury duty generally lasts about one week. However, the majority, usually more than two-thirds, of all summoned jurors are NOT actually selected for service, therefore, their duty ends after a short time with the completion of the jury selection process. For those jurors who are selected to serve in a jury panel, the judge and the attorneys may be able to estimate how long that particular trial will last.

Unfortunately, prospective jurors who appear and participate in the jury selection process will spend a great deal of time waiting. Although the courts make every effort to avoid delays, they sometimes will occur.

If a delay occurs while you are present for jury service, please try to be patient with the court staff. Rest assured that there is usually a valid reason for any delays and the judge is aware that you are waiting. Also, try to keep an open mind about your jury service and remember that you are playing an essential role in our justice system. At the conclusion of all the evidence, the judge may give you a written charge that asks you some specific questions.

Because you will need to consider all of the evidence admitted by the judge, it is important that you pay close attention to the evidence as it is presented at trial.

You will not be asked, and you should not consider, whether one party or the other should win. Note that jurors and others can be called upon to testify in open court about acts of jury misconduct. As a result, you need to follow all of the jury instructions given by the judge throughout the case very carefully. The judge may vary daily working hours to accommodate witnesses who have special travel or schedule problems. You may be struck by how much waiting you have to do.

For example, you may have to wait before you are placed on a jury. During the trial, you may have to wait in the jury room while the judge and the lawyers settle questions of law. Judges and other courtroom personnel will do everything they can to minimize the waiting both before and during the trial. Your understanding is appreciated. Dress comfortably.

Suits, ties, and other, more formal wear are not necessary. Hats may not be allowed unless worn for religious or medical purposes. The ideal item to bring with you is a book or a magazine, although sometimes the court will restrict newspapers or magazines containing information that may relate to an upcoming trial. Many courts will allow you to bring a laptop computer, but may not allow a pager or cell phone. Because security is taken very seriously, you may find that everyday items like penknives, knitting needles, scissors, or metal nail files cannot be brought into the court facility.

Check with your local court to confirm what you may bring with you. Sometimes parties in a case settle their differences only moments before the trial is scheduled to begin. In such instances, you will be excused with the thanks of the court. As the trial cannot proceed until all jurors are present, it is important that you are on time.

If you are unavoidably delayed, please call the court immediately. Because your absence could delay a trial, it is important that you report each day you are required to. If a real emergency occurs — a sudden illness, accident, or death in the family — tell the court staff immediately. But in extremely rare cases, you may be "sequestered" during the trial or during jury deliberations. This is done to assure that jurors don't hear or see something about the case that wasn't mentioned in court.

Most court facilities have security measures in place. Please do not be offended if you are searched-remember that this is to ensure your safety. In superior courts most trials last 3 or 4 days although, of course, there are exceptions. In district and municipal courts most trials last 1 or 2 days. Civil cases are disputes between private citizens, corporations, governments, government agencies, or other organizations. Usually, the party that brings the suit is asking for money damages for some alleged wrong that has been done.

For example, a homeowner may sue a contractor for failure to fix a leaky roof. People who have been injured may sue the person or company they feel is responsible for the injury. A criminal case is brought by the state, or a city or county, against one or more persons accused of committing a crime.

In these cases, the state, city, or county is the plaintiff; the accused person is the defendant. Events in a trial usually happen in a particular order, though the order may be changed by the judge.

The standard order of events begins with the selection of the jury, followed by opening statements, presentation of evidence, jury instructions, closing arguments, jury deliberations, and an announcement of the verdict. In the courtroom, your judge will tell you about the case, then introduce the lawyers and others who are involved in it.

You will also take an oath, in which you will promise to answer all questions truthfully.