In the American legal system, individuals or groups accused of a crime have the right to a trial in which they can make a plea to a jury of their peers. In order to assure this for all individuals tried in an American court, all adult American citizens and those with permanent residency status are required to serve as a member of a jury from time to time. This service is referred to as jury duty.

The number of times an individual will serve jury duty depends on the selection process stipulated by the county and state of his or her residence. In some places, individuals are called to jury duty after being randomly called from a roster of registered voters. In other places, individuals may be called to jury duty more frequently based on other factors. Owning land, having a drivers license, for examples, can increased the frequency at which an individual is called to jury duty.

Most people find jury duty to be more of an annoyance than anything else. In most cases, people are called to service and are discharged after one day at the county court house. However, there are cases in which individuals called to jury duty become involved in a complicated case. There are cases, for example, that have taken over a year in a courtroom trial. These, clearly, are the exceptions.

If you are called to jury duty and are regularly employed for more than thirty hours per week, your employer is required to pay you for up to five days of jury duty. If you provide child care to a member of your family, you must make private arrangements for that child or children while you are serving. In the event that you serve more than five days on a jury and are employed for more than 30 hours per week, the state will pay you $50 per day after the fifth day of jury duty.

Jury duty can be postponed; but it cannot be waived except for in very special circumstances in which an individual is, for one reason or another, incapable of serving. In the event that an individual does not show up to court on his or her appointed date, the court may issue a fine in excess of $1100. In order to postponed jury duty, you must get in touch with your county court house and request a postponement. If your postponement is granted, the courthouse will assign you another jury duty date.