Jury service, also known as jury duty, is the service as a juror in a legal proceeding. When someone is called for jury service, they are required to attend court and participate in the legal process. The following are some key points about jury service:

• Jury selection: The process by which jurors for a particular trial are selected from the larger group of potential jurors summoned to the courthouse.

• Exemptions/excuses/postponements: A set of reasons and criteria that can allow someone to be exempt from jury service, be excused from serving in a particular case or a given time, as well as have their service rescheduled. By law, no one who meets the basic criteria is automatically exempted from service. The law does provide for hardship excuses.

• Jury pool: A group of prospective qualified jurors appearing for assignment to trial jury panels.

• Jury summons: The papers sent to potential jurors that require their attendance in court for possible service on a jury.

• One day/one trial: A system adopted by some courts in which prospective jurors have to come to the court only once every 12 months. If they are not assigned to a courtroom for jury selection on the first day, then their term of service is complete. Alternatively, service can be completed by serving 1 day on call or 5 days on standby. If someone serves on a jury, they will not be required to report for jury service for at least another 12 months.

• Juror pay: Jurors are paid for each day of service and may be eligible to receive reimbursements.

• Jury scams: People are being targeted by scams threatening them with prosecution for failing to comply with jury service.

If someone is selected to serve on a jury, after the trial is over their service is also completed for at least a year and often longer. In fact, the majority of people who report for jury service serve for just one day. The vast majority of people who actually serve on a jury find it a fascinating and rewarding experience that they would do again.