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Jury Service in the United Kingdom

Who can be called, who is exempt, and what the test asks about civic duty in a Crown Court.

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland a Crown Court jury hears the most serious criminal cases and is made up of 12 people. In Scotland a jury for a criminal trial in the High Court or Sheriff Court has 15 members. Jurors are selected at random from the electoral register; there is no opt-out for inconvenience.

Further reading: an editorial guide on this topic opens in a new window for additional context.

You may be summoned for jury service if you are aged between 18 and 75, are on the electoral register, and have lived in the UK for at least five years since the age of 13. People with serious recent criminal convictions, those currently on bail and those with a mental health condition may be disqualified.

The handbook treats jury service as a core duty of British citizenship. The exam may ask the size of an English jury (12), the size of a Scottish criminal jury (15), or the minimum age for jury service (18).

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