A jury consists of citizens who are aged between 18 and 70 and must be a resident of the United Kingdom.
The jury is gathered using an electoral register which is randomly generated. The number of jurors on the panel can vary depending on what court the trail is being held at for example at Crown Court the panel consists of 12 jurors but at County Court the number of jurors can be between 7 and 8. In order to be summoned for jury service there is a certain amount of criteria that must be followed for you to be eligible such as you must not have suffered from any mental health issues during your lifetime as it can affect your mental capacity to make a fair and equal decision or if you are on bail you are prohibited for jury service. You are also disqualified from being a juror for life if you have been given a life or extended sentence or if you have been in prison for more than 5 years.
Certain people can be excused from being called for jury service, reasons include if they are in hospital at the time or for the foreseeable future, if they are a member of the Navy or Military or if the jury is acquainted with a member of the Judiciary team.
