Florida - 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 Florida, a pool of potential jurors is randomly selected from the local population of individuals eligible for jury duty.

Jurors shall be:

• at least 18 years of age
• citizens of the United States and legal residents of the state of Florida and their respective counties
• who possess a driver’s license or identification card issued by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
• who have executed an affidavit at the office of the clerk, to have their name added to the list of qualified jurors.

How Are Potential Jurors Chosen in Florida?

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 Florida, as described above.

Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles shall deliver quarterly to the clerk of the circuit court in each county a list of names of qualifying jurors.

Jurors not on prescribed list above, who indicate a desire to serve on jury, may execute an affidavit at the office of the clerk, to have their name added to the list of qualified jurors.

Juror lists are reviewed by the clerks of circuit court monthly and purged of any names of individuals who are adjudicated mentally incompetent; convicted of a felony; or deceased (as reported monthly by The Department of Health)

Receiving a Jury Duty Summons in Florida

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 FL, 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 Florida jury duty obligations are complete.

You will receive nominal Florida 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 Florida re-adds you to the potential juror pool.

While jury duty is a civic requirement for all eligible citizens in Florida, 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.

Florida Jury Duty Summons Frequency:

A juror who was summoned and had reported for duty in any court on their county is exempt from jury service for 1 year from the last day of their previous service.

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

Juror summoned and failing to attend without sufficient excuse may be found in contempt of court and fined not to exceeding $100 by the summoning court.

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