Who chooses who to select for jury service and how?

Question

Clarification - I'm in the UK. My mum was chosen for jury service a few years ago, and I'm wondering if there are any specifications on getting chosen, because I've never been chosen and nor has anyone else I know.

Answer 1

It is purely random, names being drawn from the electoral list. As a result of the 2003 Criminal Justice Act, every person on the electoral roll, (who has lived in the UK for five years) is eligible for jury service. The only exceptions are people deemed to have "mental disorders", people over 70 years-old or people who have been disqualified from jury service, such as those with criminal convictions. This means you will be liable to attend jury service, regardless of your job or commitments.

Before the Act was passed, members of the armed forces, practising doctors, nurses, midwives, dentists, vets and chemists could all be excused from jury service, this is no longer the case. Although members of the armed service may be excluded if their commanding officer can certify that it would be, "prejudicial to the efficiency of the service if that member were to be required to be absent from duty".

You can plead "extraordinary circumstances" to avoid having to attend, but mere inconvenience is not enough. Whether or not you are actually picked from the crowd of people summoned for jury service is purely arbitrary as well. It used to be possible for lawyers to use what was known as "the right of peremptory challenge" without giving reasons, so that people who had been panelled to serve on a jury had to step down, but that has been abolished.

Answer 2

I think the Australian system is similar to the UK.

We are randomly selected from electoral roles. From there we are divided into groups and taken into the court where the two sides can chose who they keep and who they don't and the automatically send back to the selection pool those who might have some connection with the case.

If you serve on a jury you are taken out of the draw for up to six years depending on how long the trial was.

Answer 3

The Court in the United States sends out letters to a list of registered voters:
I really can't say how jury selection is done in the UK:
The potential juriors are asked to come to the Court House: One by one,the potential jurors are questioned by both the Defense,and the Prosecution:
They both choose 12 people who they can agree on to serve as the jury:
I hope this helps.

Answer 4

It's a random computer selection - can't remember whether it goes from the last census or the electorial role...

The computer picks names and random and the letters get sent out to those people.

I served when I was 19 - and in the following year I got called up twice again - one for crown and one for coroners, but because of proceedures I didn't have to do those. The one good thing about getting jury service out of the way - after you've done it you get two years off for good behaviour!

Lx

Answer 5

Once I heard that a random selection for a jury is made from a telephone directory!

Answer 6

its a random selection of people over the age of 18 - so taking into account the 50 million or so adults in the UK your time could be a long way off.

Answer 7

Tell them you're a huge fan of CSI and you never miss a show. Jurors frown on people who watch too much CSI and other crimes shows because it makes them think they actually know about forensics, they have unreasonable expectations regarding evidence in cases and these jurors frown on the "CSI EFFECT".

Answer 8

It's pretty random, although about 5 of my relations all got called this year. Did mine years ago.

Answer 9

It is done by "lottery" out of the electoral roll

Answer 10

have often wondered myself, my mum has done it twice, my friend 3 times, me not even once,