Jury

A jury is a chosen group of citizens who are asked to come to the court and review evidence for civil and criminal trials. In a civil lawsuit the jury reviews the evidence presented by the defendant and plaintiff and decides if the plaintiff has proven their case through a preponderance of evidence. In a criminal trial the jury will review the evidence and determine if the state has proven their case beyond a reasonable doubt. Juries are the trier of fact in a civil case.

Jurors are supposed to represent a cross-section of the U.S. population and should be chosen without regard to race, gender, national origin, age or political affiliation. Jury pools are requested from registered voters or drivers who have a driver's license.

To compose the jury each lawyer has the opportunity to ask the jurors questions, a process known as voir dire. This process allows both attorneys to disregard specific jurors if they cannot be unbiased, if they have prejudicial views about the case or they know too much about the case. The attorneys also have a certain number of chances to exclude jurors without cause.