The Jury Pool

The trial jury in either a civil or criminal case is chosen from a list called a venire or jury pool that has been compiled by the court. The method of selecting names for the venire varies. In many states the list is compiled from voter registration lists or drivers license lists. (In some jurisdictions, the federal and state courts use the same lists for a given area.) The jury pool is sometimes compiled with the help of jury commissioners appointed by the presiding judge.

Most states require that a court official screen the list of potential jurors to eliminate people unqualified or ineligible under state law. Traditionally many people were exempted from jury duty because their jobs were considered so important to society that they couldn’t be released from them for jury duty. These automatic exemptions and excuses are becoming less and less common. In many states they have been sharply cut back or completely eliminated.

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