Though it’s been several years since policies on jury selection were changed, many citizens still don’t know about them. The policies, which once selected juries based on those registered to vote, were changed by districts after it was realized that a significant percentage of Americans were not registered to vote.
Junior Andrew Kwon said, “I’m firmly opposed to people not registering to vote because they don’t want to serve on a jury. Hopefully, this new policy may increase participation in jury duty.”
Today, citizens are randomly selected from a group of people that, depending on the district, includes licensed drivers, registered voters, and citizens 18 years of age or older.
Senior Kelly Rosias was shocked when informed about the changes. “I had no idea. When you turn 18, you get excited over the fact that you can buy lottery tickets. You don’t think about jury duty,” she admitted.
In Seminole County, jurors must be legal citizens and have driver’s license. While jury duty is required by law, people can be exempt for several reasons that include being the 70 or older or having already served on a Seminole County jury that year.
Senior Sara Khan, who was summoned recently, described her experience, “Personally, I think jury duty was a boring experience because of the waiting time. On the other hand, it was exciting to be summoned for jury duty because it finally made me feel 18.”
With the recent changes on how people are selected for jury duty, a person’s chance of being randomly selected does not change if they are a registered voter and a licensed driver.
Senior Garrett Jones said, “I feel it is the duty of the American citizen to serve on jury. By broadening the range of people serving on jury, courts are subject to a fair trial, not just subjective voters. I think it’s a great step.”
The changes were made in order to accommodate the large number of Americans who are not registered to vote. With the newer system, more American citizens are accounted for, giving them the opportunity to serve their country.