Juries are made up of members of the public who are known as jurors. They are selected at random from the Electoral Register and for any citizen who is chosen to serve, it is one of the most important responsibilities that they may be called to undertake.
The jury system goes back many hundreds of years and is a long-established part of our legal system. Citizens from a cross-section of society are selected to hear evidence about a fellow citizen who has been charged with an offence. Based on the evidence presented to them, the jury is asked to decide if the defendant - the person charged with the offence - is guilty or not guilty.
For every juror this is an important responsibility and while you do not need any special skills or experience, you must be fair, impartial, willing to listen and keep an open mind.
Anyone on the Electoral Register aged between 18 and 70 years-old can serve on a jury. If you are selected by computer to serve, you will receive a letter called a ‘Jury Notice’. This explains that your name is on the list of potential jurors for that year and accompanying this will be a form of return. If this is not completed and returned a reminder will be sent to you.
There are, however, several grounds for excusing yourself from having to serve on a jury and details of these categories are listed on your Jury Notice or can be found on the Court Service website.
If you receive a 'Jury Summons' you will be told where you will do your jury service and the date and time your service begins. You will usually have between three to five weeks between the Summons letter arriving and your first day in court. The letter also provides details for the Customer Service Centre that will help you with any queries that you might have about your jury service.
There may, however, be certain times when it isn’t possible for a you to serve at the time you have been summonsed. If you think there is a reason that prevents you from serving at that time, you will need to contact the Customer Service Centre and ask to be 'deferred’ so that you can serve at a later date, or ‘excused’ from jury service altogether. The reasons you might be deferred or excused and how to apply for deferral or excusal, as they are known, are provided in part two of your Jury Summons.
Additional information will also accompany your Jury Summons including details of financial allowances and general information on the courthouse you will be attending.
Your Jury Summons will tell you that you are legally required to serve. This can make some people anxious, but please don't be worried by this as we have found that once people get over their initial concerns they usually find jury service interesting and rewarding.
If you do have worries or doubts about what jury service involves, you can take an online interactive virtual tour. The tour takes you through what happens on jury service and explains the stages and procedures that you will experience when you attend the court.
If you still have worries, or if you have a disability or special needs, it may be possible to arrange a pre-court visit. To do this, you should contact the court manager of the court where you have been summonsed. Contact details for the court are on the Local Information leaflet that you will receive in your jurors pack. The jury team where you will serve will also be available to answer any questions that you have.
When you first arrive at court you will be shown a video that explains your role within the jury process. The information in it applies to all jurors, no matter which Crown Court you are in. The film shows everything from the basics of what you will need to know when you are at court, to delivering the verdict and beyond. A court official will also introduce themselves and will be available to deal with any queries that you have.
You can contact the Customer Service Centre either by email or by telephone between 9.30 am and 4.30 pm Monday to Friday.
Crime, justice and the law