Arkansas - Jury Duty Laws, Jury Selection, Juror Qualification

In the American court system, criminal defendants are guaranteed the right to trial by a "jury of their peers". In Arkansas, a pool of potential jurors is randomly selected from the local population of individuals eligible for jury duty.

Jurors must be least:

• eighteen years of age
• be a citizen of the United States
• be a resident of Arkansas and the county in which they are summoned
• consider themselves of sound mind and good moral character
• possess the ability to read and write in English
• have not been convicted of a felony (or pardon has been granted)

How Are Potential Jurors Chosen in Arkansas?

The first stage in jury selection is summoning a pool of potential jurors from the list of local citizens eligible to serve on a jury in Arkansas, as described above.

Juror selection pool composed of registered voters. Enhanced list includes licensed drivers, and persons issued an identification card (under provision 27-16-805) in the State of Arkansas. Discretion of circuit judge which list is used. Secretary of State issues lists no later than November 1 every year.

Circuit judge prepares master list of prospective jurors for the following calendar year by selecting number between 1-100 (starting number), then selecting remaining juror names from the list as 100th name intervals (ex. 54, 154, 254 etc.), until complete list has been composed.

Receiving a Jury Duty Summons in Arkansas

If your name is randomly selected for the jury pool through the process described above, you receive a jury summons in the mail instructing you to appear for jury selection on a pre-set day.

While there are a few excuses for getting out of jury selection in AR, most people summoned will have to report to the courthouse for the next stage of the juror selection process, voir dire.

The Juror Selection Process, or "Voir Dire"

Just because you qualify to be a juror and are summoned for jury selection, doesn't mean that you will be selected to be a juror on a case. The process of "Voir Dire", the actual act of jury selection, is how judges, defense attorneys, and prosecutors actually choose the individuals who will sit on the juries for upcoming criminal and civil cases.

During the voir dire process, each lawyer will ask the pool of potential jurors a series of questions about their background, beliefs, prejudices, or relationships with any party to the case. While the goal is to select an impartial jury to render a verdict, each attorney will also seek to exclude any jurors who seem to be more likely to vote against their client's interests. While jury candidates are instructed to be open and truthful when answering such questions, the juror selection process is also where most individuals who don't wish to serve on a trial find a way to be excused from further juror duties.

What Happens After Jury Selection Day

If you are selected to serve on a jury, you will be provided with the trial date, and must return to serve on the jury for the duration of the trial and deliberations. If you were not selected to serve on any jury during the voir dire process, you can go home, and your Arkansas jury duty obligations are complete.

You will receive nominal Arkansas jury duty pay for the jury selection day, as well as for any days served on a jury. Once your service is complete, you won't be summoned for jury duty again until Arkansas re-adds you to the potential juror pool.

While jury duty is a civic requirement for all eligible citizens in Arkansas, the state restricts how often you can be summoned for jury duty in order to ensure a fresh jury pool and prevent undue hardship by being summoned too frequently.

Arkansas Jury Duty Summons Frequency:

Any person sworn in as a member of a grand or petit jury shall be ineligible to serve on another grand or petit jury in the same county for a period of two years from the date they are excused by the court.

While there are a number of ways to be legally excused from jury duty in Arkansas, failing to appear when summoned for jury selection or jury duty without an excuse is illegal, and can result in legal repercussions.

Unless excused by the circuit judge, a juror failing to attend on any date when directed to do so, may be fined in any sum not less $5.00 and not more than $500.00.

Further punishment for contempt of court is at discretion of the circuit judge.

Employers in Arkansas are also forbidden from penalizing employees who miss work for jury duty.