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Jury Service Resources

Purpose

The purpose of the State Bar of Texas Jury Service Committee is to develop and implement programs to ensure broad citizen participation in and support of jury service. The committee meets every other month.

2024-2025 Projects and Objectives

• Work within our authority to meet our primary mission of developing and implementing programs to ensure broad citizen participation in and support of jury service.

• Promote and provide information and support for the annual Jury Appreciation Week events and observances.

• Utilize all means and platforms necessary to advise, educate and warn the public about common jury scams in an effort to prevent citizens from becoming victims of the same.

• Prepare communications in an attempt to encourage and ensure broad citizen participation in the jury system.

• Initiate and maintain communication with the Texas Young Lawyers Association and offer assistance regarding updates, if needed, to the American Juror website.

Jury service is a privilege that offers the average citizen an unequaled opportunity to influence and deliberate over fundamental matters of justice. By performing this important civic duty, jurors help ensure fairness and excellence in the administration of justice by federal and state courts.

For videos and a written guide on what to expect when serving on a jury, please visit the Texas Young Lawyers Association’s How Texas Courts Work website and select “Jurors” from the menu.

Also, the State Bar of Texas Law-Related Education project Jury Service: A Call to Duty features animated educational videos explaining the history of jury service, how juries are selected, and what happens when you serve on a jury.

Television public service announcements (PSAs) on the importance of jury service – produced as a public service by the State Bar of Texas Jury Service Committee — are available below.

Featuring former Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman	Featuring former Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace B. Jefferson
Featuring McLennan County residents and officials* (*Produced by Waco Chapter-American Board of Trial Advocates)

Jury Service Scams The State Bar of Texas Jury Service Committee is warning the public against criminals that would seek to make them victims of scams that are becoming increasingly common. Individuals, pretending to be local law enforcement officers, are calling citizens stating that they have failed to appear for jury duty or some other court proceeding. These individuals go on to claim that a warrant has been issued for the citizen’s arrest and/or a large sum of money is owed as a fine for failing to appear. For more information on these scams, watch the PSA below. How to Spot a Jury Scam Produced by the State Bar of Texas in partnership with Tyler Technologies JURY SCAMS SAMPLE EDITORIAL

Texas Bar Blog

• Stay informed. Stay alert. Beware of scams!
  (Originally published in March 2023)

• Opinion: Jurors deserve our appreciation. Here’s how courts can show it.
  (Originally published in March 2023)

• Jury duty scams are an increasingly common threat for Texans
  (Originally published in September 2021)

Texas Bar Journal

• Call to Duty: Improving the jury system.
  (Originally published in April 2020)

Download These Resources

• Texas Uniform Jury Handbook
  As Authorized by Chapter 23 of the Government Code (English | Spanish)
  (available online only)

• Jury Service Toolkit: A public education resource for lawyers
  (available online only)

• Juror Information Guide: A public education resource
  (available online only)

Juror Recognition

• Sample Thank You Letter from Judge to Jurors, a resource of the State Bar of Texas Jury Service Committee

• Jury Appreciation Week Guide, a resource of the State Bar of Texas Jury Service Committee

• Promoting Jury Appreciation Week, an article by Judge Eddie Northcutt for In Chambers magazine (Summer 2017)

• Proclamation for Jury Appreciation Week Template

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