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

A prospective juror must:

• Be a citizen of the United States
• Be at least 18 years of age
• Be a resident of the state and of the county ninety days before being summoned
• Possess natural faculties, of ordinary intelligence and without mental or physical infirmity preventing satisfactory jury service
• Possess sufficient knowledge of the English language
• Not be convicted of any felony unless the conviction is reversed or annulled, a pardon has been received or rights are restored

How Are Potential Jurors Chosen in Wyoming?

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 Wyoming, as described above.

The base jury list for the district court and the circuit court is compiled from April 1 through March 31 of the following year, consisting of names from from lists of registered voters and licensed drivers provided by the state. The list is supplemented when needed. Ballots with names are prepared and deposited in a box known as and plainly marked "jury box number one".

Receiving a Jury Duty Summons in Wyoming

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 WY, 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 Wyoming jury duty obligations are complete.

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

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

Wyoming Jury Duty Summons Frequency:

When a juror has served on a jury during a year’s term, they may be excused from serving on any other jury during the remaining portion of the term. Names placed onto the annual jury pool are not selected until the second year following being placed on that list, therefore one could get selected for duty once every two years.

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

A prospective juror summoned to serve who without showing good cause, fails to attend may be arrested and compelled to attend, and may be charged with contempt of court.

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