Who is eligible   

Qualifications

The qualifications to serve as a juror are codified by each state’s legislature (and Congress for the federal courts). The qualifications vary somewhat from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but most include the following:

• A minimum age—18 everywhere except Alabama (19), Mississippi (21), Missouri (21), and Nebraska (19)
• United States citizenship
• Residence in the state, and in the judicial district covered by the court issuing the summons
• Ability to sufficiently understand English

Also, many statutes specify conditions that will disqualify a person who is otherwise qualified. The most common disqualifying conditions are 1) being of unsound mind, that is, incompetent to understand the court proceedings; and 2) having a record of a felony conviction (although some states allow such persons to serve if their civil rights have been restored, or if a specified time has elapsed since their sentence expired). Another fairly common disqualifying condition is if the person has sat as a juror within a specified period before being summoned again, for example, within one year. A list of juror qualifications for each jurisdiction, current as of 2004, is found in Table 39.
 

Exemptions from jury service

An exemption from jury service exists for some groups in some jurisdictions. An exemption entitles a summoned person within the exempted group to opt-out of jury service simply by claiming status within the group. The rationales for exemptions tend to cluster around three ideas. The first is that there are some groups whose members are very unlikely to survive the selection process, and thus it is inefficient to summon them—lawyers and police officers are prototypical examples of such groups. The second cluster of rationales relates to persons whose absence from their jobs could cause public inconvenience or even hardship, such as physicians, and some government workers. The third cluster of rationales relates to persons whose service could cause them great personal hardship, such as nursing mothers, those who are the primary caregiver for a sick relative, or those who are sole proprietors of a business.

While many jurisdictions still have some exemptions, the trend in the recent past has been toward repeal of exemptions, both to spread the civic duty of serving more widely, and to attain broader representation for purposes of the fair cross section requirement. If an exemption is repealed, persons formerly within the exempted category can no longer simply opt-out, but instead must report for jury duty. If they claim a hardship, whether their excuse should be granted will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the judge, just as for any other potential juror. Thus, the difference between an exemption and an excuse is that an exemption results in automatic dismissal at the summoned person’s option, while an excuse is considered individually by the judge and is not automatically granted.

A list of juror exemptions by state, current as of 2004, is found in Table 40.
 

Excuses

The statutes of most jurisdictions specify the categories of circumstances that authorize excusal of a summoned citizen from jury duty. Usually these statutes also specify that unless the facts underlying the excuse are permanent, the person’s service will merely be postponed. An excuse can sometimes be granted by administrative personnel in the jury summoning office without the summoned person needing to appear at the courthouse. But more often the person must appear and the excuse must be considered by a judge. While all judges within a jurisdiction are governed by the same statute, the willingness of judges to grant excuses often differs dramatically, even within the same courthouse.

While each state’s excuse rules are unique, the excuses normally cluster around two forms of “undue hardship:” 1) undue hardship to the summoned citizen or to another person for whom he/she is responsible; or 2) undue hardship to the public. For example, California Rule of Court 860(d) covers most of the bases of undue hardship that exist in most states:

(d) [Grounds constituting undue hardship] An excuse on the ground of undue hardship may be granted for any of the following reasons:

(1) The prospective juror has no reasonably available means of public or private transportation to the court.
(2) The prospective juror must travel an excessive distance. Unless otherwise established by statute or local rule, an excessive distance is reasonable travel time that exceeds one-and-one-half hours from the prospective juror's home to the court.
(3) The prospective juror will bear an extreme financial burden. In determining whether to excuse the prospective juror, consideration shall be given to:
(i) the sources of the prospective juror's household income,
(ii) the availability and extent of income reimbursement,
(iii) the expected length of service, and
(iv) whether service can reasonably be expected to compromise that person's ability to support himself or herself or his or her dependents, or so disrupt the economic stability of any individual as to be against the interests of justice.
(4) The prospective juror will bear an undue risk of material injury to or destruction of the prospective juror's property or property entrusted to the prospective juror, and it is not feasible to make alternative arrangements to alleviate the risk. In determining whether to excuse the prospective juror,
consideration shall be given to:
(i) the nature of the property,
(ii) the source and duration of the risk,
(iii) the probability that the risk will be realized,
(iv) the reason alternative arrangements to protect the property cannot be made, and
(v) whether material injury to or destruction of the property will so disrupt the economic stability of any individual as to be against the interests of justice.
(5) The prospective juror has a physical or mental disability or impairment, not affecting that person's competence to act as a juror, that would expose the potential juror to undue risk of mental or physical harm. In any individual case, unless the person is aged 70 years or older, the prospective juror may be required to furnish verification or a method of verification of the disability or impairment, its probable duration, and the particular reasons for the person's inability to serve as a juror.
(6) The prospective juror's services are immediately needed for the protection of the public health and safety, and it is not feasible to make alternative arrangements to relieve the person of those responsibilities during the period of service as a juror without substantially reducing essential public services.
(7) The prospective juror has a personal obligation to provide actual and necessary care to another, including sick, aged, or infirm dependents, or a child who requires the prospective juror's personal care and attention, and no comparable substitute care is either available or practical without imposing an undue economic hardship on the prospective juror or person cared for. If the request to be excused is based on care provided to a sick, disabled, or infirm person, the prospective juror may be required to furnish verification or a method of verification that the person being cared for is in need of regular and personal care.