Perhaps the most vital way individual citizens become involved in the federal judicial procedure is by serving as jurors. There are two kinds of juries serving distinct functions in the federal trial courts: trial juries (also known as petit juries), and impressive juries. In a civil case, the location of the judges is to pay attention to the evidence presented at a trial, to make a choice whether the defendant injured the plaintiff or otherwise failed to fulfill a legal duty to the plaintiff, and to decide what the compensation or penalty should be. A civil trial jury is typically made up of 6 to 12 persons.
 Criminal juries make a decision whether the defendant committed the crime as charged. The verdict usually is set by a judge. Verdicts in both civil and criminal cases must be unanimous, although the parties in a civil case may agree to a non-unanimous verdict. A jury's deliberations are conducted in private, out of sight and hearing of the judge, litigants, witnesses, and others in the courtroom.
A grand jury, which usually consists of 16 to 23 members, has a more concentrated function. The United States attorney, the prosecutor in federal criminal cases, presents evidence to the grand jury for them to decide whether there is "probable cause" to believe that an individual has committed a fault and should be put on trial.
Grand jury proceedings are not open for public observation. If the grand jury decides there is enough proof, it will matter an condemnation against the defendant. Possible jurors are chosen from a jury group generated by random selection of citizens' names from lists of registered voters, or combined lists of voters and people with drivers licenses, in the judicial district. The potential jurors entire questionnaires to assist determine whether they are qualified to serve on a jury. After reviewing the questionnaires, the court arbitrarily selects individuals to be called to appear for jury duty. These selection methods help guarantee that jurors symbolize a cross section of the community, without regard to race, gender, national origin, age or political affiliation.
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