Duty of Every Citizen

The service you will be performing as jurors in this Court is the cornerstone of our judicial system. It is a vital duty of every citizen, an absolute essential to our form of democratic society. Without it, our system of justice could be ruled by oppression or engulfed in anarchy. Fulfilling your obligation as a juror insures your fellow citizens of a fair decision regarding their property rights or their life and liberty.

The process of selecting jurors began many months ago when a computer randomly chose your name from a list of over 380,000 registered voters in the County and from the statewide driver license list. Some people were exempted by law from this duty and others were excused because of serious reasons. However, approximately 17,000 jurors are called each year to serve.

For many of you, serving as a juror is an inconvenience and a sacrifice. However, the success of the jury system depends upon your willingness to serve. Your contribution is important not only to the community but also to you personally, since our form of society is only as strong as its system of justice. Your participation as a juror will leave you with firsthand knowledge of the judicial branch of government. You will find most trials extremely interesting and will feel gratified to have taken part in a real-life drama of great significance to your fellow man. You should take pride in helping to preserve and strengthen our system of justice.