J urors spend hours and hours in courtrooms, not to speak a word, but without them most of the trial could not be held. Jury selection in the United States is the choosing of members of grand juries and petite juries for the purpose of conducting trial by jury in the United States.

In the federal system, jury selection is governed by the Jury Selection and Service Act and by the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure in criminal cases, and by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in civil cases. In capital cases, each side gets 20 peremptory strikes. In other felony cases, the defendant gets 10 peremptory strikes and the government gets 6. In misdemeanor cases, each side has 3 peremptory strikes. A lawyer may “passively” review a potential juror who are committed to improving the effectiveness of their law firm marketing. 

Juries of six to twelve persons are selected from the jury pool. The size of jury varies from state to state and depends to some extent on the type of case at trial. In many jurisdictions, jury selection begins with the court clerk’s calling twelve people on the jury list and asking them to take a place in the jury box. The judge usually makes a brief statement explaining what kind of case is to be tried and inquiring whether there is any reason the potential jurors cannot serve. The judge or the lawyers then ask them questions as to whether they have any knowledge of the case or have had specific experiences that might cause them to be biased or unfair. This questioning of the potential jurors is known as voir dire (to speak the truth).

In addition to challenges for cause, each lawyer has a specific number of peremptory challenges. These challenges permit a lawyer to excuse a potential juror without stating a cause. In effect, they allow a lawyer to dismiss a juror because of a belief that the juror will not serve the best interests of the client. Peremptory challenges are limited to a certain number determined by the kind of lawsuit being tried. They can’t be used to discriminate on the basis of race or sex.

When both parties have agreed upon a jury, the jurors are sworn in to try the case by the court clerk. Those not selected are excused.

There are Three Groups that are Exempt from Federal Jury Service: