Josh Elledge - Chief Executive Angel
Admit it. You've watched Judge Judy or Judge Joe Brown. And while the court proceedings were happening in your living room, you were rendering a verdict of your own. Now, instead of just watching these proceedings, you can be involved in real cases that haven't gone to court yet. And, believe it or not, get paid for it! Just by becoming an online or eJuror.
Attorneys and insurance companies are looking for feedback on cases they are currently working on, or cases that they are deciding to accept or not. Through the use of various trial service websites, they are able to evaluate and discover the strength or weaknesses of their cases prior to a real trial; all in a very cost-effective way.
It doesn't cost you anything to be an online juror, so if you find a website that's asking you to pay some sort of fee . . . RUN, it's a scam. The legitimate online jury sites pay you ranging from $5 to $60 per case ““ depending on the length of the mock trial.
A case will be presented via audio, video, or written from both perspectives. You'll be asked to answer questions, or comment, on the case through an online questionnaire. Each case generally takes from 30-60 minutes to evaluate and submit your responses. There are no right or wrong answers, you are only asked to give your honest opinion. Your first cases will probably take the longest, but once you become familiar with some of the basic terminology, your average time should shorten.
If earning a bit of extra money as on online juror sounds interesting to you, take a moment to go over some qualifications, as listed on eJury.com.
You must:
* be at least 18 years of age;
* be a citizen of the United States;
* be of sound mind and good moral character;
* be able to read and write;
* have never been convicted of a felony; and not be under indictment or other legal accusation of misdemeanor theft, felony theft, or any felony charge;
* not be an actively practicing attorney, paralegal, or legal assistant;
* not be employed by, or associated with, an attorney or law firm;
* not be related to a practicing attorney within the first degree of affinity (marriage) or within second degree of consanguinity (blood);
* and not be employed as an insurance adjuster, nor associated with the adjusting of liability claims.
Once you get past the qualifiers, there are some other things to consider and steps to take:
1)Before signing up to become a juror, take a look at the sample case on the eJury.com website. Are you able to follow the scenario easily? Can you answer the questions with clear and definitive answers?If it seems too difficult or leaves you undecided how to answer using the amount of information given, this may not be for you.
2) You may sign up and not hear anything for a long time. The reason being that jurors are generally only allowed to review cases in the county or Federal District in which they live. The number of cases available to review is dependent on the number of attorneys in your area using the trial service you've registered with. Your invitation to review may also depend on how well you fit the demographics they are looking for: i.e. age, gender, level of education, ethnic background, etc.
3) Sign up for more than one jury service website. This increases your chances of being asked to participate in a jury pool.
4) Don't quit your day job or any other regular job you may have. There is no way of knowing how often you'll have the opportunity to review a case. It stands to reason that if you live in a small or rural area, your opportunities may be very limited.
5) Services generally pay shortly after the conclusion of the case either by PayPal or check. Some may only pay once a month, but they do pay.
6)It's recommended that you take any case that comes your way. Receiving future invitations may be dependent on your continued participation.
7) You will be asked to submit personal information, so you need to be prepared and comfortable providing those details; things such as driver's license number, political party affiliation, city and state of birth, just to name a few.
You may be able to find several trial service websites on the web, but here are 3 major services worth considering:
While you're looking at different online jury opportunities, you'll likely come across sites that operate mock jury trials that are conducted at a designated location in person, not online. Those are different from what we've talked about here.
We recommend that you do your homework carefully before signing on to be an online juror.
