Jury Duty - General Information | Superior Court of California

on the second floor. You’re dressed in —perhaps a sweater or light jacket, since the courtrooms are notorious for being cold. The Selection Process

On the third day, after closing arguments and the judge's instructions on the law, you and 11 strangers are locked in the jury deliberation room. The first vote is 8-4. What follows is two hours of intense, respectful, and sometimes heated discussion. You pull out your notes. You ask another juror to explain their reasoning. You re-read the judge's instruction on "negligence."

You sit in the hard wooden juror box, trying to make eye contact, answer honestly, and not appear too eager or too reluctant. One by one, jurors are thanked and excused for hardship (a new mother, a small business owner who can't be away) or for bias. Others are "stricken" by the attorneys using peremptory challenges—a quiet "thank you, you may return to the assembly room."

The courtroom is smaller and more intimate than you imagined. Rich wood paneling, the American and California flags, the judge's bench elevated at the front. The clerk swears you in. The judge—a sharp-eyed woman in a black robe—welcomes you and explains the case: a civil dispute over a traffic accident. Estimated length: three days.