 Most of us are familiar with the image of a jury delivering a verdict. We've seen it on TV shows and learned about juries and civics lessons. In the next few days, you may be delivering a verdict in the United States District Court. Serving as a juror is one of the most important responsibilities you have as a citizen of this country. That's why we'd like to take a few minutes to tell you about your role as a juror, to give you a general idea of what to expect. Along the way, we'll hear from some people who have already served and give you some dos and don'ts about being a juror. Should you be selected to serve on a jury, the judge in the case will tell you more specifically what you can and cannot do. This program is being shown in courts nationwide, so we can't tell you about all of the administrative details which may vary from court to court, such as how long you'll serve or where to eat. But someone from the court you're in will. Be sure to ask if you have any questions. You have been called to serve. The court will do its best to make sure you're as comfortable as possible and to make the best possible use of your time. Everybody had a different opinion about what they thought really happened. They were entitled to their opinion, but it was difficult. I didn't think I'd get so drawn into the case. Sure, there were boring moments, but overall, I found it very interesting. Well, one of the things I really liked about serving on a jury was the way I was able to find out what others were thinking and to have them listen to my ideas. The people went back and forth, back and forth. It took a while, but I think we made the right decision. You may have yet a different reaction to your service. The different values and perspectives that jurors bring to the courthouse are a strength, not a weakness. The right to a trial by jury is guaranteed by our legal system. Article 3 of the U.S. Constitution says that the trial of all crimes shall be by jury. The Constitution's Seventh Amendment guarantees juries in most civil cases. Juries serve as a protection against the power of government. People charged with a crime or involved in a dispute over an injury or a business deal get the benefit of the judgments of the entire community, not just of government officials. Without people like you, these constitutional guarantees could not be met. Of course, the jury system is not without its critics. The proper role of the jury has been debated for a long time and will probably be debated for years to come. But your duty as a juror, if selected, is clear. Think about how you would want the jurors to act if you were involved in a lawsuit. I was nervous when my name was called. I hadn't been selected for a trial yet, but I kept thinking, I'm a librarian, well, a retired librarian, not a lawyer. What if I'm chosen for a case with lots of technical evidence? Some cases are complicated. But remember, if you're selected for a jury, everything you need to know you will see, hear, or read about in here. All you need to bring with you to the courtroom is your common sense. Every day you make judgments about people and situations and information you're given. This is what you'll need to do as a juror. Your everyday common sense, combined with what you learn in the courtroom, will help you reach an impartial decision based on the evidence and the law. That is what a juror's job is all about. What about all this sitting around? Some days it seemed like that was all we did. I'm not used to that. Delays can happen for a number of reasons. When you're first called for jury duty, it can take a whole morning to assign prospective jurors to all the new trials starting that day and to get groups of jurors up to their courtroom. And even if you've been selected for a jury, your trial can be interrupted. For example, the lawyers could raise a complicated legal question that the judge needs to resolve before the trial continues. If it looks like it will take a long time, or if it's a sensitive matter, it may send you to the jury room rather than have you wait in the courtroom. Or a judge may need to hold a hearing on a matter totally unrelated to the case you're hearing. Judges juggle many cases at once and often must take time to attend to other matters. But remember that the judges will do their best to keep from wasting your time. Right now you're probably in a jury lounge or waiting room. When a jury is needed, you and other prospective jurors will be taken to a courtroom to answer some questions. The group of you that's taken is called a panel. The questioning is called voir dire. Voir dire is a legal term that means to speak the truth, which you're obligated to do. Voir dire's purpose is to ensure that the jury is made up of impartial jurors capable of deciding the case based only on the evidence. In some courts, judges conduct the voir dire. In others, attorneys ask the questions. And in others, both the judge and the attorneys may ask questions. I spent the whole day waiting in the juror lounge and I never even got called to a courtroom. The clerk, I don't know what you call her, whoever it is, it helps jurors get settled. She thanked us several times. Not everyone summoned by the court will serve as a juror. Sometimes people don't even make it to voir dire. If this happens to you, it's important to remember that you've performed a valuable service just by showing up. Trials are expensive and risky for the parties involved. Knowing a jury is ready to try the case often helps convince parties to settle at the last minute. And the courts always have to call a few more people than they'll need. This is to be safe. The alternative is to call fewer people and risk having to delay the trial if there are not enough potential jurors. I was disappointed. The judge asked me a question. I can't even remember what it was now. It didn't seem like that big a deal. But when I answered it, the attorneys jumped up, said something to the judge. Next thing I knew, I was out of the jury box. Yes. During voir dire, you may be asked about your occupation, if you've heard or read about the case, and if you know any of the parties, witnesses, or attorneys. Usually questions are asked of the entire panel, then individual panel members stand or raise their hands if their answer to a question is yes. You may wonder about some of the questions. They may seem quite personal. But the parties have a right to know some things about the people who will decide their case. If you feel something is private or embarrassing, you can ask to talk to the judge at the bench. The judge and lawyers will listen carefully to the answers you give during voir dire. If a lawyer thinks there's a specific reason you may not be able to decide the case impartially, the lawyer may challenge you for cause. For cause means asking the judge to excuse you from serving in the case for a specific reason. If the judge agrees with the lawyer, the judge will excuse you from the panel. This means you can't sit on that case, though you may be sent back to the jury room for possible selection in another case. I sat on a case involving fraud, real estate fraud. I was surprised I was allowed to serve. I told the judge that I'd had bad experiences with real estate agents, but then I thought I could decide the case fairly. As this juror suggests, merely having read or heard something about the case will not automatically disqualify you from serving, nor will past experiences. What's important is that you've not made up your mind about the case and can decide it impartially. There's no limit on the number of jurors that can be excused for cause, but there are limits on the number of peremptory challenges. With peremptory challenges, lawyers don't have to give a reason to the judge. Lawyers may make peremptory challenges because they have a hunch or gut feeling that a prospective juror won't respond favorably to their case. The challenge may be based on information lawyers learn in voir dire, but can't be based on race or gender. Well, it was kind of strange when the lawyers were choosing people for the jury. They kind of looked at you, then looked at their notes. It was hard to figure why they asked certain people to leave and not others. It is hard to figure out why certain people are excused, but the lawyers have their own reasons for making challenges based on what they know about their case. If you're excused, don't take it personally. It's a normal part of the process. Let's say the lawyers have exercised their challenges and other preliminary matters have been taken care of, and you find yourself sitting on a jury. What happens next? I was surprised at how different things looked from the jury box. The witnesses were so close to my seat, and so were the judge and the lawyers and everyone else. Things do look different from the jury box. Let's take a look. A trial begins as soon as the jury is sworn in. The lawyers make opening statements. Opening statements are the lawyer's overview of what the case is about and what they think the evidence will be. Opening statements are not evidence. That is, they do not prove anything. After opening statements, the lawyers for each side present their evidence. This generally takes up the biggest part of the trial. Evidence is information presented to you by witnesses under oath. It can be testimony or it can be exhibits that witnesses swear are genuine, such as documents, photographs, diagrams, and other physical objects. The trial system is based on the idea that each side will present the strongest evidence it can from persons sworn to tell only their personal knowledge and that this will lead to the truth. Each side has the opportunity to ask the other side's witnesses questions. This is called cross-examination. Of course, the lawyers can't just present any evidence they want. There are rules that control what evidence the jury can hear and see and what evidence it can't. Lawyers will make objections to evidence they believe improper and the judge will decide whether the jury can consider it. The judge presides over the courtroom, controls the proceedings, and decides all questions of law. If anything you hear or see conflicts with what the judge says, follow the judge's instructions. This includes anything the attorneys say, anything you might see in this program, or something a fellow juror might tell you. During the trial, you may notice people other than the judge, the lawyers, and the parties in the courtroom. The court clerk calls the court to order, swears in witnesses, and handles exhibits. A court reporter takes down a record of everything that's said so a transcript can be made. But be sure to pay attention. The transcript might not be provided to the jury. In some cases, there may be a bailiff or other court security officer. At times during the trial, the judge and the attorneys may have a bench conference. Bench conferences are discussions that people in the courtroom can't hear. They're commonly called to discuss whether an attorney can present a particular piece of evidence. It may bother you that you're excluded from the discussion. But bench conferences help ensure that you only hear evidence that the judge has decided is proper, given the case and the laws that apply to it. Bench conferences are also referred to as sidebars. After the evidence is presented, attorneys make closing arguments. The attorneys sum up the evidence and give the jury what they think are the reasons their side is entitled to a verdict from the jury. Just like opening statements, closing arguments are not evidence. After closing arguments, the judge talked to us for a while. Then we were taken to the jury room to deliberate. That was a funny feeling. I mean, we had spent so much time in the courtroom. Then all of a sudden, there we were, trying to figure out what we thought happened. The judges talk that the juror refers to are jury instructions or the jury charge. In jury instructions, the judge explains the law that you and other jurors must follow in the particular case. If you have questions about the instructions while you're deliberating, you may send the judge a note. But basically, once the door to the jury room closes, the public part of the trial is over. It's up to you and the other jurors in private to try and reach a verdict. At one point in deliberations, we really got stuck. Several people didn't think this one witness was telling the truth. But then again, several of us did. This is the kind of question you'll have to decide if selected as a juror. Is a witness telling the truth? Did the events happen, as the witness said? Should you believe evidence that contradicts the witness's testimony? To make sure the verdict will be fair, there are some things you can't do as soon as you're called for voir dire until the trial is over and the judge excuses you. First, you must not mingle or talk with anyone associated with the case, including the lawyers, the parties, and the witnesses. They're not allowed to talk with you either, so don't feel offended by the lack of even casual greetings. You also cannot discuss the case with other jurors until the judge has instructed you to do so and you are inside the jury deliberation room. This one was difficult. It was hard during the trial to go to lunch with people who were sitting next to me in the jury box and not talk about the case, especially at first. It was the only thing we had in common. After a while, though, it got easier. I began to learn about their jobs and families and things like that. In addition to people inside the courthouse, you must not discuss the case with anyone outside the courthouse. This includes family members and friends. If a person persists, remind them that you are a juror and exclude yourself from the conversation. If you believe someone is making a deliberate attempt to influence you, notify the judge or clerk of court immediately. It was hard coming home and not telling my wife what happened. I'm not a talkative person or anything, but I usually tell my wife about things that go on during the day. Following some of these guidelines will take extra effort, both inside and outside the courthouse. Remember not to read or listen to news accounts of the case and not to conduct your own investigation. I was surprised at this one. I knew I couldn't go to crime scenes or anything like that, but, well, it's second nature for me to look things up in books. This is an important point. Don't look for any information that you think might help you decide the case. This includes not visiting crime scenes or accident sites, not looking up information in law books, scientific journals or encyclopedias, and not calling a friend who might be an expert about an issue in the case. And one more thing. Don't accept favors from anyone connected with the case, no matter how small or insignificant they seem. Your impartiality as a juror is crucial for a fair and just trial. Following these guidelines will help you carry out your main responsibility as a juror, using your everyday common sense to reach an impartial decision based only on the evidence presented in court. Remember, the process of reaching a verdict requires listening carefully and keeping an open mind. We hope that you'll find your experience as a juror rewarding. You will be performing one of the most important responsibilities you have as a citizen of this country. Thanks to the jury system, every citizen can play an important role in the administration of justice in our courts. That system guarantees that we, each of us, will be judged by our peers. This is your opportunity to help make that system work.