What happens after I receive a jury summons?

Question

This is the first jury summons I have ever received and I know I have to show up at the courthouse on the date specified, but I don't know anything that happens after that. Do I take something to read, listen to, or Su-Do-Ku puzzles?

Answer 1

Definitely take something to read, and maybe some work.

You could be there for hours with  nothing to do.

You will be placed in a "holding" room with all of the other prospective jurors. You may be called to see if you are suitable for a jury or you may not.

Answer 2

In all likelihood you will spend some 5 to 8 hours or more bored out of your mind sitting in a large room with a bunch of strangers.  You will have to stay in that room or near it so you will be available if a jury call is read.  A jury call is when the authorities call a panel of people, the number varies, to go to a court room where a jury of 6 to 12 people or more will be chosen to render a verdict in a civil or criminal case.  The odds are that you will never be called to be on a jury panel.  Don't fail to take something to occupy your time because this will likely be the most boring time of your entire life.

Answer 3

All but the last time I was called, I sat in the courtroom until called for preliminary questioning to see if I was suitable to both defense and prosecution.  I was chosen twice, then got to go into a separate room to wait for the rest of the jury to be chosen.  This is where the puzzle books would have been handy, but we were not allowed anything like that.  Once I knew almost all the prosecution witnesses and had for years, so Bye-Bye!  The last time, there was a plea bargain made just before jury selection would have begun and I was turned loose for another 6 years.

Answer 4

Absolutely take something to do! You could end up sitting for quite a while before being called, if you are called at all.