Jury Duty-What to Know Before You Go

A few months ago, I received a letter in the mail explaining the fact that I would be a potential juror for the winter jury duty term in my county. With a sigh, I filled out the questionnaire and returned it, figuring I would receive additional information in a few weeks stating that I had been selected. I was right.

In October, I was notified that I would be on the jury for a four-month term, beginning in November and ending in February. I was to call every Monday after 4pm to find out whether or not I would need to report for duty, and as November through January passed, I was never called to come in. However, I made my first appearance as a potential juror on February 2, and had no idea what to expect. Here are a few tips I wish I would have known before heading into the courtroom, and I hope they help you if you find yourself in this situation.

Dress nicely-This may seem like something that doesn't need to be said, but it's important that you wear business casual attire. You certainly don't need to wear a suit and tie, but wear a nice outfit that you would wear if you worked in a professional environment. Some courtrooms will likely allow jeans as well, as long as they are clean and appropriate. In fact, 90% of those jurors I served with (all were called in that day so we had 80 people in attendance) wore jeans.

Make sure you wear something that is comfortable-Our motto of the day was "hurry up and wait," and that's exactly what we did. We were called in to the courtroom and then were randomly assigned numbers. These numbers determined when we would be asked questions to determine our appropriateness as jurors for the current case, but this took a great deal of time. I was there from 8:45am until 4:00pm (with breaks for lunch, etc.), and I was never called back to the room to be asked questions. However, I did sit in the same chair in the same area for the entire day, so be prepared to be as comfortable as possible due to the long wait.

Be prepared to wait-I saw several fellow jurors bring books or magazines with them, and this was an excellent idea. I bought a book back with me after our lunch break, and was happy that I did. I was able to wait more patiently since I had something to do, as we weren't always allowed to talk to one another. We were able to bring drinks into the courtroom, and we were also able to use our cell phones. I was very surprised by the fact that we were openly able to use our phones, but please understand that each court's rules may be different. We were also able to get up and take bathroom breaks or walk around a few minutes if need be, so that also helped the wait.

Be on time-This is a simple rule and one that many followed, but it is important to be on time when coming to jury duty. 1/3 of those called did not show up that day, and all jurors had to wait until each person who did not attend was notified. This made the day much longer, as did any occurrence in which people were late. You don't need to be thirty minutes early, but in order to make everyone's day go by quicker, it's best to be on time.

My first day of jury duty really wasn't too bad, and now that I know what to expect, I won't be as anxious or unprepared when I go in for my next potential case. I hope these tips were helpful!