How common is being chosen for jury duty?

32 comments

1. It feels like a completely random process. Some get called every couple of years. Some never.

2. It’s random. For example my mother (44) has been selected to jury duty twice in the past year, meanwhile my grandmother (64) hasn’t been selected in her entire life.

3. I was chosen in September to be on standby for the month(never called up) of last year and then got another letter in December for January 1st through February 1st of 2023. Prior to that it had been 30+ years without a letter from the prosecutor for duty. Still have about 11 more days for that phone call. It’s pretty much random here in my state

4. Most people will have it happen at least once or twice in their lifetime.

5. Twice in 10 years for me. One dismissed after the jury selection, the other for a 3 day trial, with a 1 hour jury discussion for a not guilty verdict.

6. Once in ~12 years for me. Got dismissed.

7. I have been selected once since I turned 18 (I am 24 now), and I was able to get out of it because I had moved out of the county by the time I was selected. It seems like such a random process

8. I was notified once (in ~15 years) and had to check each day for a week if I needed to go in, but they didn’t need me.

9. I have been called 3 times in 40 years and only served once.

   First time I actually got called and put on a jury. Second time I was in college and so I told them I was out of state at school and they deferred me and I was never called before I left college and moved out of state. Third time I was called while I was in law school and it was during finals. They called me and I had to go in but they let me go during voir dire when I told them it would be hard for me to serve because I was busy with law school finals.

10. I’ve been selected for jury duty three times, but each time my jury pool doesn’t is told we’re not needed the night before.

11. I’ve been called twice in about 15 years of being eligible. First time I sat in jury selection for a day and was sent home (not selected). Second time was right as I was about to take a trip, I got a deferral, and they never called me back. At least in Maricopa county, the most often you can be called is every 18 months.

12. it’s random.

    some get chosen never, some get chosen every few years. my grand mother lived to be 95 and didn’t get called to jury duty until she was 93 in the hospital.

13. I’m not sure what I am doing, but I tend to get called every 4 years or whatever the interval is here. My wife has never once gotten a notice.
    I’ve only actually had to report twice though.

14. Ever since I got a city government job I get a summons as soon as I’m eligible which, since I can never serve on a jury, is like every 18 months. The reason I can never serve on a jury is that I work with the prosecutors and know them all. So when the judge asks if anyone knows anyone working on the trial, I raise my hand, point at the prosecutor, and get dismissed. I got a summons for a date a few weeks ago. you have to call a number the night before and type in your participant number to see if they still need you. This time it said no. So I have another 18 months off.

15. I think it depends on where you live. In all my years of living in Maine I’ve never been asked to be on jury duty. I know my parents, who have lived in Maine most of their adult lives, have never been on jury duty either. However, in my 3 years in New York I was called to be on jury duty once, as was my boyfriend at the time who moved at the same time as me. He’d also never been called for jury duty in Maine.

16. I’ve been called twice. The first time I had an excuse (caring for elderly parent with dementia) and the second I went, sat around for an hour, and all of the cases had pleas out so there was no court, and they thanked us and we all went home.

    I honestly don’t mind it, but my county courthouse is an hour’s drive, so I’d rather not have some weeks-long case.

17. I’ve been called twice in the last 10 years. The first time, the case settled the day before and I didn’t have to show up in Court. The second time, the Defendant failed to even show up so we got to call home about an hour after we were supposed to be there.

18. I’m 35 and never have yet. I’m not sure I’d mind depending on where work had me sent that week. Certain places I have to go SUCK. I travel and some of the places are very far from pleasant. I’m probably one of the few people who would invite jury duty.

    And now that I’ve said it, I’ll never get so lucky. I never would’ve wanted to until this job.

19. I got called twice in the same year when I was about 23. They canceled the first time, then I had to actually show up and sit in a room all day the second time. IIRC if you actually have to show up, you are then off the hook for some number of years, and won’t ever get called.

    My mom got selected the same year I did and it was the first time in her life.

20. I’ve been summond 4 times in 30 years

21. Twice in two years 🤣 Didn’t have to go since I was pregnant and then had a baby to care for.

22. I’m 28 years old and my wife is 29. I have received one jury summons, and my wife has received two.

23. I’ve been selected for the pool 3 times and got called once but it was already filled the day I was supposed to go so I didn’t get too 🙁 I’ve always wanted to do it.

24. I’m in my mid 30s and have been called twice. Once for local and once for federal. Lucky me, one was for first degree murder and one was for child sexual abuse.

25. It’s random.

    I have (Federal) jury duty next week……it’s the 5th time I’ve been called for jury duty, although I’ve only been selected to sit on a jury once.

    My husband has never been called for jury duty.

26. I used to live in a smaller town, I got a letter every year. Out of all those times, I only got selected once. I moved to a bigger town about 7 years ago. Last year was the first time I got a Jury duty letter. The night before I checked the website, it said I was dismissed.

27. Its random. I’ve been called 3 times and sat on 2 juries.

28. It’s random. I am in my mid-30s and have only been called once. I was selected to serve on a jury for a 2 day trial (the judge ended up apologizing to us, saying it could have been finished in one day, but he didn’t expect some witness testimony to wrap up so quickly). After the trial, but before the jury deliberations, I was randomly chosen as the alternate juror. So I got to go home…but I have no idea if the person was found guilty or innocent.

29. Not very, I’ve had jury duty exactly once, and it was in the mid-90’s.

30. It’s very uncommon, pretty rare to be called, simply because of the size of the population and the number of jurors needed at any given time.

    As a single example I’ve been eligible for jury duty for 54 years now and have been called 3 times.

    Then also being called doesn’t mean you’ll be on a jury as most people are called but not chosen for actually serving on a jury.

31. Depends on where you live, how many cases their courts have relative to population.

    I live in Chicago (Cook County court system), which is a pretty busy court system. I’ve been called for jury duty 4 times in 20 years, served on one jury that lasted 4 days. The other times was just sitting around and waiting to be called into a courtroom for jury selection only to be sent home around 3pm.

32. The last time was months ago.