Jury trials provide an opportunity for citizens to participate in the judicial process. Jury trials give citizens on the jury the power to make a decision on the case. People who serve on juries routinely have a greater respect for the system when they leave.
Any party may demand a trial by jury of any issue triable of right by a jury by (1) serving upon the other parties a demand therefor in writing at any time after the commencement of the action and not later than 10 days after the service of the last pleading directed to such issue, and (2) filing the demand as required ...
If you have been convicted of a felony when the conviction has not been set aside or a pardon issued. If you are a judge, clerk of a district court, a sheriff, or a jailer. If your spouse has been summoned for the same jury panel. If you or your spouse have a pending jury trial in any court.
Jury selection is a random process. As such, there is always the chance that a person may never be called while another may be called several times.
It is estimated that 14.4% of Americans are summoned for jury duty and approximately 11 million individuals report for jury service every year.
Excuses will be granted ONLY for reasons of compelling personal hardship. Requests for excuses and postponements for jury duty must be made by electronically using the requested online form, or by mail or fax. Your request CANNOT be handled by telephone.
Medical conditions, deafness, difficult sitting for long periods, people who know the defendant or officers, people who've been victims of crimes, financial hardship, and more will be excused. Depending on the county, they might call 100 people to select just 12.
The simple reason why some people get summoned to report for jury duty more than others is that the selection system is completely random. A computer randomly picks prospective jurors from the jury pool.
Jury service in this county operates on the one-day / one-trial system.