Do you remember the day the O.J. verdict came out? People everywhere were sitting by their televisions, or listening to their radios at work just waiting to hear “guilty” or “not guilty.” All of America was wondering what was going on in that deliberation room. What were the jurors talking about and how would they come to their decisions? We all watched the lawyers age ten years before our eyes. What if those lawyers had some way to see into the minds of the jurors and understand how they came to a decision? Do you wish you could have been in that jury room when they deliberated?
That is exactly what mock trials are all about. The lawyers do want to know what the jury is thinking, and they will pay you to help.
What is a Mock Trial and Mock Jury?
Average Americans are called for jury duty and serve their community every day. That is why lawyers, prosecutors, and law firms pay research companies to hold mock trials with ordinary people as jurors. Because ordinary people are the jurors in real life trials. Then the research companies pay you to act as a mock juror.
They look for people in the same state or county that the real trial will be held in, so the mentality of the people in the area will be the same. Then they look through their database to see how many people are registered to participate in a mock trial in the area, and they call you if you're registered in their pool. For online mock trial work, they go for age, income level, etc.
How Much Does Jury Research Pay?
For $80 they may ask you to spend 3 hours listening to the facts of a case and come to a verdict with your fellow mock jurors. For $150 they may ask you to spend a whole day sitting in a court room with a mock judge and going through the whole trial process from start to finish. Refreshments are always served, and in the case of an all day trial you are given lunch, which is usually professionally catered.
These companies pay you well and feed you well because they want something—your judgment. They need normal, everyday people. If lawyers have a chance to present their case to a jury and watch the process of how the jury comes to a decision--who leads the group, who holds out because they don’t agree with the others, etc.--they will have the insight to fine-tune their argument so they have a better chance of getting the verdict they are looking for. That is why they will pay you so well to be a mock juror.
Ejurors go through mock trials online; instead of going to an office and watching a practice trial, the practice is done online, in webinars and streaming video.
Where Can I Find In-Person and Online Jury Work?
You have to be registered with mock jury and ejury companies to get paid. If they don’t know about you, they can’t call you. There are hundreds—thousands—of people who regularly make $50, $75, $150 and much more depending on the length of the case, for each mock trial they are in. They do it regularly, they do it well, and they enjoy making money just by letting people watch them come to a decision.
Do online research to find mock jury companies. Some sample companies include:
- Adler-Weiner Research Companies
- Audience Response Solutions
- Concepts In Focus
- Nichols Research
Look out for all options in your area and for ejury opportunities. With new forms of technology lawyers can use virtual chat rooms and webinars to connect with mock jurors. You can get paid to express your opinion from the comfort of home, all while helping with jury research.
Melanie Zoltan - Melanie Zoltan is a former college professor and administrator who has written for About.com, PCWorld, Brain Child, Thomson Gale, and ...
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