Jury selection usually takes a few hours to a day for most trials. In serious criminal cases, high-profile trials or complex civil cases, it can take several days, and in rare cases weeks. How long it takes depends on the type of case, how many jurors are needed, and how many potential jurors have to be questioned or excused.
Jury selection is only one part of jury duty. Many people who report are never sent to a courtroom at all, and those who are may be released the same day.
What Happens During Jury Selection
A group of potential jurors, called a panel or venire, is sent from the jury assembly room to a courtroom. The judge explains the case briefly and asks whether anyone has a hardship or a reason they cannot be fair. The judge, and in most courts the lawyers, then ask questions in a process called voir dire. Each side can ask the judge to remove jurors who appear biased, which is called a challenge for cause, and can remove a limited number without giving a reason, called peremptory challenges. Our guide on how jury selection works explains each step.
What Makes Jury Selection Take Longer
- Serious charges: murder and other major felony trials need 12 jurors plus alternates and give each side more peremptory challenges.
- Publicity: in well-known cases, many potential jurors have heard about the case and must be questioned closely.
- Long trials: when a trial is expected to last weeks, more people have hardships that must be reviewed.
- Written questionnaires: some courts have jurors fill out detailed questionnaires first, which adds time but can shorten questioning.
- The court’s practice: some judges do most of the questioning themselves and move quickly, while others give lawyers more time.
How Long the Trial Lasts
Once a jury is chosen, many trials last a few days to a week. Complex civil cases and serious criminal trials can run several weeks or longer. The judge usually gives potential jurors an estimate of the trial length at the start of jury selection, so you can raise any hardship then. See how long jury duty lasts for more.
More Jury Duty Guides
- How jury selection works
- How long jury duty lasts
- What disqualifies you from jury duty
- What to bring to jury duty
- How to legally get out of jury duty
- How much jury duty pays
Common Questions
How long does jury selection usually take?
For most trials, a few hours to one day. Serious criminal cases, high-profile trials and long civil cases can take several days or more.
Do you get picked the same day you report for jury duty?
Often, yes. If you are sent to a courtroom, jury selection may finish that day. Many people are never sent to a courtroom and are released at the end of the day.
How many jurors are on a jury?
Criminal felony juries usually have 12 jurors. Civil juries and some misdemeanor juries may have six to 12, depending on the court. Alternates are often chosen too.
What is voir dire?
Voir dire is the questioning of potential jurors by the judge and lawyers to find out whether they can be fair in a particular case.
