FAQ

A plain-English reference on how each US jurisdiction treats the jury's role in deciding the law: all fifty states, the District of Columbia and the federal courts. Each jurisdiction has its own guide, and the complete guide puts all 52 in one PDF.

No. It is a reference. We report what the law says and link to the official source for every claim, so you can check any of it yourself. If you need advice about your own situation, you need a lawyer.

One chapter in six parts: jury selection, what the judge tells you, how the verdict works, protections and risks, the law in plain English, and official state resources. Each state's page on this site shows what its chapter covers. Find your state.

Official sources only: state statutes, court rules, constitutions, and published jury instructions, each read at the issuing source rather than summarized from somewhere else. Every cited provision links back to where it was taken from.

Each source carries the date it was last confirmed to resolve. That is a statement about currency, not a guarantee that the law has not changed since.

A not-guilty verdict returned by a jury that believes the evidence fits the charge. The jurors may agree that the accused did what the charge says, and they return not guilty anyway. The verdict stands. What is jury nullification explains the idea in full.

Nearly everywhere, a jury is told to apply the law as the judge states it, and nearly everywhere, a verdict of not guilty is final whatever the reason behind it. The two sit side by side. What your state's constitution, statutes and instruction say about the jury's role is in its chapter, quoted and cited.

Before the jury goes out, the judge reads it the law. In 49 of the 52 jurisdictions, a standard instruction tells jurors to take the law from the court. The exact words a judge reads in your state, and what its rules and courts say about telling a jury more, are in its chapter.

Each jurisdiction answers this in its own rules and its own cases, and the answers are not the same from one state line to the next. Your state's chapter gives its answer and the source for it.

A not-guilty verdict is the one decision in a criminal case that nobody gets to revisit. Three rules make it so: one about what a jury has to explain, one about what a judge can do with a verdict, and one about whether a person can be tried twice. Your state's chapter quotes its own version of each, with the citation.

A jury summons is a court's notice that your name has been drawn and you are to appear. It says where to go and when, and it carries the court's rules on answering it. Who sends it and which list your name came from are on the summons card at the top of your state's chapter. If you are called for jury duty walks through what follows.

During selection, people are asked questions under oath, and the answers matter. A person who tells the court they will not follow its instructions can be excused for that reason, and the law in every jurisdiction allows the court to excuse a person for cause. The grounds, and how far a person's views about the law itself count as one, are set out in each chapter.

A not-guilty verdict is final, and a juror is not called to account for returning one. That protection is about the verdict. It does not cover the answers a person gives under oath during selection, or what a juror does during the trial apart from deciding, which the judge's instructions govern. A juror's rights, and the line sets out where the line falls.

The jury room is private: what jurors say to each other while deciding is, as a rule, not something a court will later open up. Your state's rule on what a jury has to explain, and what a juror may say after the verdict, is quoted in its chapter.

While the trial is running, the judge's instructions govern what a juror may read, say and look up, and they are not the same in every courtroom. When the jurors go out to decide, they deliberate together, and what is said there stays there. Your state's chapter sets out the rules that keep the jury room private.

A state's guide covers one jurisdiction. The complete guide is all 52 chapters in one PDF, every state, the District of Columbia and the federal courts. If you are not sure which you need, contact us before you buy.

The guide is a PDF. Your receipt email has the link to download it. If you cannot find the email, contact us and we will send it again.

No. There is no account and no login. You pay at checkout and download the PDF.

Yes, free. When a guide changes, the new version replaces the old one at the same download. The Latest updates page lists what changed each month.

No. The guide is a digital download: once it is delivered it cannot be returned, so all sales are final except where the law requires a refund. If a download does not work, contact us and we will fix it. The full policy is on the Refund Policy page.