Every year, thousands of New Zealanders give their time to serve on juries in the High and District Courts. Jury service is an important way you contribute to your country and your local community. Jurors help make sure the justice system is fair for all New Zealanders.

What’s a jury?

A jury is a group of 12 people from the community, randomly selected from the Electoral Roll. They hear the evidence of a case, decide on the facts and then reach a verdict – guilty or not guilty.

Why have I received a jury summons?

If you’re enrolled to vote, you can be randomly selected (‘summoned’) for jury service.

If you’re summoned, you’ll get a letter and a form that tells you to come to court for jury service. The letter will tell you the date, time and the court you should come to. You’ll need to send the form back to the court.

You must come to court, unless you get a letter or email from the court before the court date telling you that you’ve been excused.

Even though you’ve been summoned, it doesn’t mean you’ll be selected to serve on a jury.

Watch videos about what you can expect from jury service(external link).

• Respond to your jury summons

  Find out how to respond to your summons, what arrangements you might need to make while you’re on a jury, and what to do if you can’t attend court for jury service.

• Payment and support to help you attend jury service

  Find out what you’ll be paid for doing jury service, and what expenses (like childcare, transport and parking) you can ask the court to help you pay for.

• Check if you need to attend jury service today or tomorrow

  Find out whether you need to attend jury service today or tomorrow.

• Useful information before you come to court

  Find out what to expect before you arrive at court and what you’ll need to do on the day.

• When you arrive at court

  Find out about arriving at court the first time.

• How a jury is selected

  Find out more about the jury selection process at court.

• What’s my role as a juror?

  Find out more about your role as a juror.

• How a jury trial works

  Find out more about what happens in a jury trial and the different roles of people involved.

• After the trial: Support and information

  Find out what support and guidance is available to you after the trial.

• Jury service forms

  Fill out and send in the jury response form.

• Information for employers

  If one of your employees has been summoned for jury service, here’s what you need to know.

• Frequently asked questions

  While we've tried to give as much information as possible in this section, it's likely you'll have some questions about jury service. This page has some common questions.

• Words you may hear as juror

  Definitions of common words you might hear during your jury service.

• Contact us

  Find out how to contact us about jury service.