Juror of assizes

Conditions

You can be drawn at random to serve as a jury of assizes if you fulfill all the following conditions:

• You are a French national
• You are over 23 years of age
• You can read and write in French
• You have all your political, civil and family rights (for example, the right to vote)
• You are not in any case incapacitated or incompatible.

Cases of incapacity

Certain categories of people cannot be jurors. It is in particular of the following persons:

• Persons who have been convicted for a crime or a offense
• Persons charged or who are subject to a warrant of committal or stop
• Public officials dismissed from their posts
• Dismissed Ministerial Officers
• Members of a professional order permanently prohibited from practicing their profession by a court decision
• Persons who have been deprived of certain civil, civil and family rights (e.g. the right to vote)
• People protected majors.

Cases of professional incompatibility

The jury duty is inconsistent with the performance of the following functions:

• Member of the Government
• Parliamentarians (MP or Senator)
• Magistrate
• Active police, prison or gendarmerie officer.

Exclusion cases

Some people may be excluded from the jury list:

• Persons close to the accused, his lawyer or one of the magistrates present at the assize court (spouse, partner of Civil partnerships, cohabiting partner, parents, children, etc.)
• Persons who participated in the judicial proceedings (victim, interpreter, witness, etc.).
• Persons who, during the last 5 years, participated in a session of assizes within the same department
• Persons over 70 years of age
• Persons whose principal residence is not in the department of the court of assizes.

1Preparation of the preparatory list by the mayor

There's a court of assizes by department.

Each year, the mayor of a commune or the mayor designated for a group of communes draws lots from the electoral lists. The number of persons selected by lot shall be 3 times the number set by theprefectural decree for the constituency. For example, if the prefectural decree provides for the appointment of 10 jurors for the constituency, the mayor will have to draw 30 people at random from the electoral rolls.

The mayor then removes from that list the names of people who have not reached the age of 23 during the the calendar year which follows the year of the draw.

The preparatory list is then drawn up in 2 original copies. One copy is deposited at the town hall and the other is transmitted to the graft from the assize court.

The mayor also sends a notice of information to the voters concerned, telling them that they have been drawn by lot to be jurors and that they can make a application for exemption.

2Establishment of the annual list of jurors by the special commission

A special committee of each Assize Court meets once a year. Its role is to:

• Exclude from the pre-trial list persons who do not meet the requirements to be a juror
• Decide on requests for waiver which are presented to it
• Draw lots again and draw up, for each commune (or group of communes), the annual list of jurors and the special list of jurors alternates

The annual and special lists are communicated to the mayors of each of the communes of the department.

Mayors must alert the Assize Court of any change that affects one of the persons selected on one of the 2 lists: death, incapacity, incompatibility or exclusion. Their names will then be removed from the list.

3Nomination of jurors

As a matter of principle, 35 full and 10 alternate jurors are drawn from the annual list drawn up for each sitting.

Nevertheless, in some assize courts (notably those of Paris, Bouches-du-Rhône, Charente, Gard, Gironde, Guyana, Martinique, Morbihan, Rhône, Seine-Saint-Denis, Var), 45 full jurors and 15 alternate jurors are drawn by lot.

In any case, these draws are public.

If you are selected to be a full or alternate juror, the Registry of the Assize Court shall summon you by post at least 15 days before the start of the Assize Session. The convocation shall specify the date and time of the opening of the session of assizes, its foreseeable duration and the place where it will be held.

You must return the receipt of this summons by post to the Registry of the Assize Court.

4Formation of the judging panel

The Assize Court is composed of 3 professional magistrates and 6 jurors of assizes (or 9 jurors before the Court of Assize of Appeal).

A sitting allows several cases to be tried.

For each case, a final draw is made at the opening of the trial.

If your name is drawn, you are a full juror for the case in hand.

Nevertheless, the accused, his lawyer or the advocate general may object to your being a member of the jury. In that case, you are disqualified and can't be a juror.

The first 6 unchallenged jurors form the judging jury. If it is an appeal case, the first 9 jurors form the judging jury.

Additional jurors are drawn by lot to be able to replace jurors who may suddenly be prevented during the trial (health reasons, professional imperatives, etc.).