Jury service
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Performing jury service is an important civic duty, but it can interfere with work and daily life. A set of rules outlines the required behaviour during jury service, when jury service can be deferred or avoided, and what people will be paid by their employers or the courts whilst doing jury service.
What is jury service?
Juries
Some court cases will use a jury to help determine the outcome of a criminal trial (or, very occasionally, a civil court case). A jury is a panel of 12 (in England and Wales) or 15 (in Scotland) members of the public who must vote on whether or not the defendant (the person accused of committing a crime) in the case is guilty of the alleged offence. The jury is presented with evidence and told about relevant law by the judge. They can discuss the case amongst themselves (alone, in the jury room) and then they must vote - often the vote has to be unanimous. A jury is not required to explain their reasoning to the court or anybody else.
Jury service
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