If you’ve been called, here’s what to expect for jury duty: you’ll show up at the courthouse on the date your summons gives you, clear security, check in at a juror assembly room, and wait. Most people never leave that room for a courtroom. Under the “one day or one trial” model federal courts use, if you aren’t placed on a jury that day, your service is done. If you are placed, you sit through the trial until a verdict or a mistrial.
Before Your Service Date
Read the summons the day it arrives. It gives you a juror ID number, a reporting location, and a date. Most courts run a call-in line or a website you check the evening before, because trials settle at the last minute and whole juror groups get released without ever reporting. Checking the night before can save you the trip entirely.
If a questionnaire came with the summons, fill it out ahead of time. Courts use it to screen for conflicts and gather background on the people in the pool, and finishing it at home keeps the morning moving. Bring a valid government-issued photo ID.
Dress the way you would for a job interview. There’s no universal dress code, but shorts, tank tops, and flip-flops can get you turned away. Business casual is safe. Pack something for the waiting: a book, a laptop for other work, a phone charger. Most courthouses let you carry a cell phone through security, but you’ll need to silence it in the building and power it off in the courtroom. Judges can ban devices from the courtroom entirely if they become a distraction.
Who Has to Serve, and Who Doesn’t
Federal jurors must be U.S. citizens, at least 18, residents of the judicial district for at least one year, and able to read, write, and speak English well enough to follow the proceedings. A pending felony charge or an unrestored felony conviction disqualifies you.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1865 – Qualifications for Jury Service Three groups are automatically exempt: active-duty military and National Guard members, professional firefighters and police officers, and full-time public officials who were elected or appointed by someone elected.2United States Courts. Juror Qualifications, Exemptions and Excuses
Most state courts mirror these qualifications, with their own variations.
At the Courthouse
Plan to arrive early. Everyone entering a federal courthouse goes through a security screening with metal detectors and X-ray machines for bags, much like airport security. Weapons are prohibited, and items like pocket knives or scissors will be confiscated at the door.3U.S. Marshals Service. What to Expect When Visiting a Courthouse On a Monday morning, when multiple juror groups report at once, the line can be long. Budget an extra 20 to 30 minutes.
Signs will point you to the juror assembly room. A clerk checks you in using your juror ID or the barcode on your summons and marks you as present for attendance and pay purposes. The room is a large waiting area with chairs, restrooms, and often vending machines. Staff usually play an orientation video or give a short talk about the day’s schedule and how selection works. Then you wait. If no courtroom calls for jurors, you’re released.
Voir Dire: How Jurors Get Picked
When a trial is ready, a group of potential jurors walks from the assembly room to the courtroom. The judge and the attorneys question you in a process called voir dire, which is just the legal name for the interview that determines who sits on the jury. Questions range from the broad (“Has anyone here been the victim of a crime?”) to the pointed (“Do you know the defendant personally?”). The goal is to find anyone who couldn’t be fair about this particular case.4United States Courts. Juror Selection Process
You can be removed two ways. A challenge “for cause” means the judge agrees your answers show you couldn’t be impartial; there’s no limit on these. A peremptory challenge lets an attorney remove you without stating any reason, and each side gets only a limited number, so they use them strategically.4United States Courts. Juror Selection Process
Once enough jurors and alternates are seated, the clerk swears them in. If you weren’t picked, you head back to the assembly room, and in many courts that ends your obligation.
If You’re Seated on a Trial
The judge opens with preliminary instructions on the legal standards you’ll apply. Attorneys give opening statements, which lay out what each side intends to prove. The prosecution or plaintiff goes first, calling witnesses who testify under oath while the other side cross-examines. Documents, photos, and physical items are introduced as exhibits. When the first side rests, the defense presents its case the same way.
Your job is to listen and reserve judgment. Many federal courts allow jurors to take notes, and you’ll be told at the start whether note-taking is permitted. Either way, you can’t discuss the case with anyone, including fellow jurors, until deliberations officially begin. You also can’t do your own research. No Googling the defendant, no driving past the scene, no reading news coverage. Courts enforce this seriously because outside information can derail the whole trial.
After the evidence closes, attorneys give closing arguments. Those are persuasion, not evidence. The judge then reads final instructions explaining what the law requires before you can return a given verdict.
Deliberation and the Verdict
The jury moves to a private room. The first step is picking a foreperson to lead the discussion and sign the verdict form. The group reviews the evidence, re-reads the judge’s instructions, and works through the questions the case presents. If a question comes up about the law or an exhibit, the foreperson sends a written note to the judge through a court officer.
Federal criminal verdicts must be unanimous. Federal civil verdicts must also be unanimous unless both parties agree otherwise.5Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 48 – Number of Jurors; Verdict; Polling Once the jury reaches a verdict, the foreperson signs the form and the jury returns to the courtroom to announce it.
How Long Jury Duty Takes
Under the federal “one day or one trial” rule, reporting and not being seated ends your service. If you are seated, you serve until the trial ends. Average trials run three to five days; complex ones go longer. Many federal courts put prospective jurors on call for up to 30 days, so you may need to check in periodically during that window even when you aren’t asked to report on day one.
State courts vary. Some ask for only a single day of availability; others keep jurors on call for a week or two. Your summons will say.
Pay, Taxes, and Your Job
Federal jurors are paid $50 per day for each day they report. If a single trial runs longer than ten days, the judge can raise that to $60 per day for the remaining days. The court also reimburses mileage at a set per-mile rate and, at the judge’s discretion, reasonable parking fees with a receipt.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1871 – Fees State court pay varies widely, from nothing at all up to around $50 or more per day.
Jury pay is taxable income. If your employer keeps paying your regular salary during service but requires you to turn over the jury check, you can deduct the amount you surrendered so the same money isn’t taxed twice.7Internal Revenue Service. Publication 525 – Taxable and Nontaxable Income
Federal law makes it illegal for an employer to fire, threaten, intimidate, or coerce a permanent employee because of federal jury service. An employer who violates the rule faces a civil penalty of up to $5,000 per violation, liability for lost wages, and a court order to reinstate the employee.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1875 – Protection of Jurors Employment Federal law does not, however, require employers to pay your regular wages while you serve. Many do, especially larger employers, but it’s a voluntary benefit unless state law says otherwise. Ask about your employer’s policy before you report, and ask the clerk for an attendance certificate when your service ends.
If You Can’t Make Your Date
Most courts let you defer to a later date, and deferrals are granted more freely than full excusals. A full excusal usually requires genuine hardship: a medical condition that makes service risky, caregiving responsibilities with no backup, extreme financial burden, or an unreasonably long commute. Each court’s jury plan lists the grounds it accepts.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1863 – Plan for Random Jury Selection The summons tells you how to request either one, usually through a website or by returning a form to the clerk’s office. Submit the request before your reporting date.
Don’t just skip. A summons is a court order. If you fail to appear, the court can order you in and demand an explanation. Without a good reason, you face a fine of up to $1,000, up to three days in jail, court-ordered community service, or some combination.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1866 – Selection and Summoning of Jury Panels Courts usually send a second notice before escalating, since mail gets lost. Ignoring repeated notices is what tips the situation into contempt.