Legal Definitions - jury selection

Jury selection is the process of choosing people to serve on a jury for a trial. The court sends out jury summons to people who are randomly selected from lists of registered voters and people with driver's licenses. These potential jurors must meet certain qualifications, such as living in the area and not having a criminal record.

During the selection process, the potential jurors are divided into smaller groups and assigned to different courtrooms. The judge will explain the type of case to be tried, and then the jurors will be questioned by both the judge and the lawyers to determine if they can be impartial. This questioning process is called voir dire.

For example, if a person is called for jury duty in a criminal trial, they may be asked if they know the defendant or have any biases against the type of crime being tried. If a potential juror is found to be biased or have a conflict of interest, they will be excluded from serving on the jury.

Once the jurors are selected, they will be sworn in to try the case. The standard jury size for civil cases is usually six, while criminal cases have 12 jurors.