Who can serve on a federal jury
The list below follows 28 U.S.C. § 1865 and the Administrative Office page “Juror Qualifications, Exemptions and Excuses.” A district plan can add excuse categories. It cannot rewrite the statute.
Qualifications
To be legally qualified, a person must:
- be a United States citizen;
- be at least 18 years of age;
- have resided primarily in the judicial district for at least one year at the time the qualification questionnaire is completed;
- be able to adequately read, write, understand, and speak the English language;
- have no disqualifying mental or physical condition that cannot be addressed with an accommodation;
- not currently be subject to felony charges punishable by imprisonment for more than one year; and
- never have been convicted of a felony, unless civil rights have been legally restored or were never lost in the jurisdiction of conviction.
Section 1865 states the same tests in the negative: a person is deemed qualified unless one of those disqualifiers applies. The clerk or a judge makes the call from the form and other competent evidence. Harborline does not.
Exemptions (barred even if they want to serve)
Three groups are exempt from federal jury service while employed full time in the role:
- members of the armed forces and National Guard when on active duty;
- members of non-federal professional (not volunteer) fire and police departments; and
- “public officers” of federal, state, or local government — persons elected to public office or appointed by someone elected — who are actively engaged full-time in those public duties.
uscourts.gov is explicit: people in those categories are barred from serving on federal juries even if they are otherwise qualified and would like to sit.
Excuses (discretionary, plan-specific)
Most districts offer a permanent excuse, on individual request, to designated groups on the ground that service would be an undue hardship or extreme inconvenience for that class. Those groups may include:
- persons over age 70;
- persons who have served on a federal jury within the past two years; and
- volunteer firefighters or members of a rescue squad or ambulance crew.
The Act also lets a court defer or excuse a summoned juror for undue hardship or extreme inconvenience. uscourts.gov states that excuses are granted at the discretion of the court and cannot be reviewed or appealed to Congress or any other entity. Each of the 94 districts keeps its own procedures.
Official page: Juror Qualifications, Exemptions and Excuses. Statute: 28 U.S.C. § 1865.