Jury Duty

Twelve people sit in a box. The box is in a courtroom. The box is a jury box. The twelve people make up a jury. Each person is a juror. Mothers and fathers may be jurors. Teachers may be jurors. Doctors may be jurors. All kinds of people can be jurors.

If a person is accused of doing something wrong, he or she has the right to a trial. If you are accused of something, you are blamed. You are charged. Sometimes a trial is needed to see if the charges are correct. One side tries to prove that the charges are correct. The other side tries to prove that the charges are not correct. Each side has lawyers. Lawyers are people who know all about laws.

A trial takes place in court. Sometimes, a judge decides if the charges are correct. Other times, the lawyers ask the judge for a trial by jury. Everyone has the right to a trial by jury if they ask. In a trial by jury, the jury decides if the charges are correct.

Letters are sent to all kinds of people. The people do many different jobs. Some people are rich. Some people are poor. All the people are U.S. citizens. All the people are at least 18 years old. The letters tell the people to come to court for jury duty. In court, lawyers talk to all the people. The jury is chosen.

The jury sits together. They sit in a jury box. They listen to all the lawyers. The judge listens, too. The judge makes sure that court rules are obeyed and that the trial is fair. After the trial, the jury goes away to talk together. No one else is there. The jury decides if the charges are correct. Sometimes it takes only 30 minutes to decide. Sometimes it takes days or even weeks!