Colorado Judicial Branch
Jury
About Jury Service
About 95 percent of all jury trials in the world take place in the United States. The jury system is a very important part of the court process in Colorado. The opportunity to serve on a jury allows you to become better informed about your courts and the law. Citizens who serve as jurors usually feel a sense of pride and respect for our system of justice.
What to do if You’ve Received a Jury Summons
Read the details on the summons you received. They will tell you how to determine whether you need to report to the courthouse on the date printed on the summons, how to ask for a postponement of your service, and what to do if you believe you received the summons by mistake.
Jury Process
If you’re among those who are required to report to the courthouse, make arrangements beforehand for child care (you can’t bring kids with you for this), to have time off from work (court staff can help you get a certificate of service to show your employer), and other matters. Bring a book or something else to occupy your time as you wait with others who also received a summons. To enter most courthouses in Colorado, you’ll need to go through security screening similar to what you’d experience at an airport, so plan for that as well. Once inside, you’ll be directed to a jury assembly room. Staff in the courthouse will be available to answer questions. A video will be played for you to teach you about what happens during a trial. A judge may come to speak to you and other jurors about jury service and our appreciation for your service, even if you’re not selected as a juror. Court staff will call out numbers like the one that’s printed on your summons. If your number is called, you and others in your group will be brought to a courtroom for jury selection. The judge and attorneys will ask you and the others questions, even though you may already have answered a number of questions in writing. The point is to ensure you are qualified to serve and that you can do so in a fair and impartial manner. The attorneys and their clients then will have the opportunity to dismiss prospective jurors as they work toward seating the jury.
Jury History and Reform
Since 1990, Colorado law has made jury service more convenient by using a one day/one trial system. This means that, in each calendar year, persons summoned for jury service must serve only one day or, if selected for a trial, for the length of that trial. In addition, the Judicial Branch has been working to further reform the jury system. Changes are being made that are designed to ensure that jurors are treated with appropriate respect and courtesy, improve the quality of the jury decision-making process, and increase the overall efficiency of the system. Some of these significant reforms include:
- Respecting the use of the juror’s time by conducting court proceedings timely and minimizing unnecessary delays;
- Respecting the personal privacy of jurors by limiting public access to individual juror information and sealing juror questionnaire forms;
- Reducing the burden of jury service by using the one-day/one-trial method of jury service;
- Expanding the composition of the jury pool by using additional sources of juror names;
- Permitting juror questions, note-taking/trial notebooks, and pre-deliberation discussions in many cases; and
- Communicating with the jurors in plain English