Municipal Court judges may be reappointed, but there is no tenure. Each year, thousands of citizens in New Jersey serve as jurors in Superior Court. Jury service is a civic duty in our democracy. When jurors decide a case, they represent the community as a whole. By serving as jurors, people help to ensure that our system of justice is fair.
Most jurors serve on petit juries.
Petit means small. A petit jury decides the outcome of a criminal trial or of a civil trial in which monetary damages are sought. In New Jersey, juries in criminal trials consist of 12 jurors, while juries in civil trials consist of six jurors. People also are summoned to serve on grand juries. A grand jury decides whether there is enough evidence for a person to be brought to trial for a crime.