How jury deliberations work behind closed doors

Jury deliberations happen in private, and the law keeps it that way. After closing arguments, the jurors retire to a room that no party, reporter, or family member may enter. Trials are generally public, but jury deliberations are private, the federal judiciary notes in its published guidance on juries. What comes out is a verdict. In a federal criminal case, that verdict must be unanimous. Deliberation is one stage of a case with rules attached at every step. The deadlines that start a civil case are covered in why statutes of limitations matter in civil cases, and they show how much of a dispute is decided before anyone reaches a courthouse. This account of the jury room draws on the federal rules of procedure and on guidance published by the courts themselves. Both areas sit inside the Justice section of this site. Who sits on the jury, and who may enter the room? The trial jury, called a petit jury, decides both criminal and civil cases in federal court.

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