AZ Jury Service

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Jury Service

Jurors are the heart of the judicial system in the United States. In all serious criminal cases, defendants are entitled to a trial by a jury representative of the defendant's community. Many civil cases also include a right to a jury trial. All U.S. citizens are qualified for jury service if they are at least 18 years old, are residents of the jurisdiction in which they have been summoned to serve, have had their civil rights restored if previously convicted of a felony, and have not been determined by a court to be mentally incompetent or insane. Arizona has pioneered many successful jury reform measures, such as jurors being allowed to ask written questions of witnesses in the court, jurors being allowed to discuss evidence (in civil cases) during the course of the trial, juror note taking and juror notebooks in lengthy or complex trials, and supplemental pay for long trials. Prospective jurors may be called for service by a Justice Court, a Municipal Court, or by the County Jury Commissioner of the Superior Court.   WATCH JUROR COMPENSATION VIDEO  WATCH JUROR ORIENTATION VIDEO

Lengthy Trial Fund   ATDEF (For use by jurors empaneled on or after September 24, 2022). Brochure Juror Claim Form Reimbursement Request Form - For Court Use Only Request for Medical Excuse Form

Committee Reports   Report and Recommendations of the Task Force on Jury Data Collection, Practices and Procedures (2021) Statewide Jury Selection Workgroup Report and Recommendations (2021)

Historical Reports   Supplemental Report Concerning Jury Anonymity (2003) also written by the Arizona Supreme Court Ad Hoc Committee. Jurors: The Power of 12 (1994). This report takes the form of 55 specific recommendations touching upon the entire process in which jurors are involved, beginning with the subject of source lists from which potential jurors' names are taken and ending with the need for post-verdict debriefings of jurors following unusually stressful trials. Jurors: The Power of 12, Part Two (1998). In late 1996, about two years after submission of its original report on jury reform, Jurors: The Power of 12, and one year after the Arizona Supreme Court's adoption of several new rules affecting jury trials, the Committee on More Effective Use of Juries was reconvened to consider additional issues.

 

JUDGES, ATTORNEYS AND COURT STAFF SHALL MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO ASSURE THAT ARIZONA JURORS ARE:

1. Treated with courtesy and respect.
2. Afforded privacy and security safeguards.
3. Randomly selected for jury service without regard for race, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, physical disability, sexual orientation or economic status.
4. Provided with comfortable and convenient facilities, with accommodations to address the special needs of jurors with physical disabilities.
5. Informed of trial schedules as often as possible.
6. Informed of the trial process and of the applicable law in plain and clear language.
7. Permitted to take notes during trial and to ask questions of witnesses or the judge, as permitted by law, and to have them answered where appropriate.
8. When the law permits, told of the circumstances under which they may discuss the evidence during the trial among themselves in the jury room, while all are present, as long as they keep an open mind until a verdict is rendered.
9. Given answers, as permitted by law, to questions and requests that arise during deliberations regarding the law as it relates to their specific case.
10. Permitted to express concerns, complaints and recommendations to courthouse authorities.
11. Compensated in a timely manner for jury service.

--Juror Bill of Rights