What is jury duty?

Jury duty is the responsibility of U.S. citizens to serve on a jury when summoned by a court. The right to a jury trial appears in three places in the Constitution: Article III Section 2 requires juries for federal criminal cases, the Sixth Amendment guarantees jury trial in criminal prosecutions, and the Seventh Amendment preserves jury trial in civil suits at common law involving more than twenty dollars. Because juries are made up of ordinary citizens, the system depends on widespread willingness to serve.

The Jury Selection and Service Act of 1968 sets out the federal jury selection process, requiring random selection from voter registration rolls and, in many districts, from driver's license records and other sources, in order to draw juries from a fair cross-section of the community. Most states use similar procedures. To serve on a federal jury a person must be a U.S. citizen at least eighteen years old, a resident of the judicial district for at least one year, sufficiently proficient in English, free of disqualifying mental or physical conditions, and not currently under indictment for a felony. Many states use comparable rules, although age, residency, and English proficiency requirements vary. Felony convictions disqualify potential jurors in some jurisdictions, with restoration of rights available after a waiting period.

Two main types of juries operate. Petit juries hear evidence at trial, deliberate, and reach verdicts. Federal criminal petit juries have twelve members and require unanimous verdicts under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 23 and Ramos v. Louisiana (2020). Federal civil juries typically have six to twelve members and also require unanimity unless the parties stipulate otherwise. Grand juries decide whether to indict criminal suspects. Federal grand juries have between sixteen and twenty-three members, sit for terms of months at a time, and operate in secret under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 6. The Fifth Amendment requires grand jury indictment in federal felony cases.

Employers are generally prohibited from punishing employees for jury service. Federal law under 28 U.S.C. § 1875 protects federal jurors, and most states have similar protections. Jurors receive a small payment, often forty to fifty dollars per day in federal court, plus mileage. Failure to appear for jury service after a valid summons can result in fines, contempt of court, or community service. Naturalization candidates need to recognize that once they take the Oath of Allegiance and become citizens, they may be summoned to serve on a federal or state jury and that responding to the summons is a civic duty.