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Jury service is a civic duty as important as voting, but receives far less attention from the everyday citizens who may be called to serve.

For many people, jury service is nothing more than something dramatized on TV. In fact, a jury summons is often a source of dread. But would people still groan at performing their civic duty if they thought about how jury service allows ordinary people to directly shape our justice system?

The right to a jury of one鈥檚 peers is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution and has always been a vital part of America鈥檚 system of checks and balances. Juries were designed to be a crucial check on government overreach. To this day, they ensure that people facing criminal or civil charges have their cases heard and decided by a group of their peers, not a few government actors.

Despite the important role that juries play in our criminal legal system, criminal case dockets have become so bloated that plea bargaining has become the default mechanism for resolving cases in many jurisdictions. More than 90 percent of criminal convictions in the United States are now resolved by guilty plea. That means that the vast majority of people accused of a crime are not getting the right to a trial by a jury of their peers.

We want to help you understand your rights and responsibilities as a juror, so we鈥檝e invited ACLU experts to answer some of the most pressing questions about jury service.

There are two types of juries: grand juries and trial juries. Grand juries take place before a person is formally charged with a crime and are made up of 16 to 23 jurors. In these proceedings, jurors hear from the prosecution and determine if there is enough evidence to formally charge someone with a crime. Trial juries hear both criminal and civil cases and are tasked with rendering a verdict on the charges presented. A juror鈥檚 primary responsibilities are to:

1. Determine whether the government met its burden of proof: A common misconception is that jurors judge the defendant鈥檚 guilt. In reality, they are tasked with judging whether the prosecution presented a legally sound case. To reach a grand jury indictment, a majority of jurors must agree that the government has shown probable cause that the accused committed the alleged crime. In a trial jury, 12 jurors must unanimously agree that the government has or has not shown proof 鈥渂eyond a reasonable doubt鈥� that the defendant committed the crime charged. Alabama and Florida, notably, are the only states that allow a non-unanimous jury decision for recommending the death penalty in sentencing.
2. Render a verdict: As a grand juror, you will be asked to vote to indict or not indict a defendant. A grand jury indictment is required in order for the prosecution to bring charges for some categories of offenses. A non-indictment in a grand jury proceeding results in a dismissal of charges. In a criminal trial, you will be asked to return a verdict of guilty or not guilty on the charges the defendant faces. You may base your vote on the law, the weight of the evidence, as well as your own experience.

Your vote is your own, and no one can force you to vote a certain way. Judges, prosecutors, and your fellow jurors might encourage you one way or another, but no one can force you to change your vote.

- Kimberly Buddin, Senior Policy Counsel, Justice Division

The most recent data collected put at 99 percent. Researchers found grand juries almost always vote to indict, with a notable exception for .

This constant stream of indictments could be attributed in part to the fact that grand jury proceedings favor the prosecution. The prosecution presents their case against the defendant to the grand jury. While the defendant is entitled to have a lawyer in the room, their lawyer cannot address the grand jury or even speak.

Another contributing factor to the alarming indictment rate could be the low standard of evidence 鈥� typically just probable cause. A conviction obtained after a grand jury indictment is most likely done so via plea bargaining, which means grand jury proceedings may be the first and last time the prosecution is held to any evidentiary standard in each case. Our current Grand jury system tends to automate approval of government prosecutions, but such deference is an affront to the spirit of the Constitution."

- Emily Reina Dindial, Senior Policy Counsel, Justice Division

In all states and in the federal system, citizens over 18 years old are eligible for jury service. However, more than 20 million people in the United States have had their right to serve on a jury taken away because of a felony conviction.

Discriminatory laws that exclude people with felony convictions from serving on a jury mean that even after someone who has committed a felony has rejoined community, in many states they still do not have the ability to exercise their full rights as a citizen. This results in skewed jury pools that do not represent the community. This is especially true in communities that have been over-policed and over-criminalized.

A jury should reflect the values and experiences of the community, including and especially people with personal experience in the criminal legal system. Until we restore jury service rights to all the nearly 20 million people in this country who have felony convictions, we cannot fully achieve the vision in the Constitution of a jury of our peers.

- Kimberly Buddin, Senior Policy Counsel, Justice Division

A jury must come to a unanimous decision for either an acquittal or a conviction in a criminal case. However, that does not mean that every jury trial must result in an acquittal or a conviction.

A 鈥渉ung jury鈥� occurs when a jury is deadlocked and unable to reach a unanimous verdict. A judge may read you a statement known as an 鈥淎llen Charge,鈥� which encourages the jury to continue deliberating until they reach a unanimous verdict. But even if the judge strongly implies that you must reach a unanimous verdict, they cannot force you to change your vote even if it leads to a hung jury.

Negotiating charges for the sake of unanimity compromises the integrity of the conviction. Jurors are obligated to vote not guilty or decline to indict if they do not believe the prosecution met the burden of proof even if they are the sole vote.

- Emily Reina Dindial, Senior Policy Counsel, Justice Division

Jury service is far more than just something shown on TV. Juries empower people to protect fellow civilians from immoral, discriminatory, or unjust laws and prosecutions. We need an educated and engaged pool of eligible jurors in order to preserve the right to a jury trial and our democracy.