How Jurors Are Selected

The process of jury selection actually begins long before anyone serves on a jury. Every four years (coinciding with presidential terms), the Alabama Middle District creates a master “jury wheel” that includes the names of approximately 112,000 people who live in the 23 counties that make up our district. Of those, approximately 65,000 individuals in this “jury wheel” are selected to receive a questionnaire that they are required to complete and return. Through that process, the Clerk’s Office  will select 25,000 – 30,000 qualified individuals who can be summoned for jury duty as needed during a four-year period. (ALMD Plan for the Random Selection of Grand and Petit Jurors.)

When jury trials are scheduled, the Clerk’s Office begins summoning a jury pool – a sizeable number of people from whom judge and attorneys can select to give their case a fair hearing.

When you are summoned to jury service in the Middle District of Alabama, you will receive a “summons package” addressed to you by name that provides instructions for your service. This package includes a 9-page questionnaire that you must complete and return. Unless you present a reason to be excused from service, you will become part of a jury panel. (Click here to email the Jury Administrator.)