Under the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution, a jury may not be selected in a manner whereby there is a systematic exclusion of any distinct class of persons in the population, or from lists which fail to reflect a representative cross section of the community or under any other prejudicial circumstance that denies a defendant a fair trial by an impartial jury. In order to uphold this, we need those summoned to participate in the jury process to ensure every citizen s right to have their case decided by an impartial jury selected from a representative pool of prospective jurors. Illinois requires a jury trial in all criminal cases including ordinance violations. Juveniles are entitled to a jury trial only under the Habitual Juvenile Offender Act. Generally, in civil cases, claimants seeking monetary damages have the constitutional right to a trial by jury, while those seeking other forms of relief do not, unless provided for by statute.
All parties are equal before the law and each is given the same fair and impartial treatment.
Your duty as a juror is to weigh all of the evidence and testimony presented to you and to decide the outcome of the case based upon the law and the evidence. Your decision must be fair, impartial and free of any bias or prejudice. Jury service is the basis of our judicial system and is essential to the administration of justice. Petit jurors in Lake County serve for one week, unless a trial to which you are assigned runs longer. During your week of service, when not actually on a trial, you will be on telephone alert.