Can a priest be a juror?

[Andrew1992]

Briefly watching a murder trial on TV, I recall a reporter saying how jurors are hand picked out of society. Are priests able to be picked for jury duty or are they exempt? Question goes for cardinals, deacons, etc.
Thank you.

 

[Fr.Charles_Grondin]

There is nothing in Church law that would forbid a priest from being on a jury. I have actually been called for jury duty a few times but have never been selected.

However in the USA many courts exempt clergy from being on a jury. This is due to several reasons:

1. Most clergy are alone in their church. If they are missing for weeks it is a hardship.
2. Clergy are likely to have a conflict of interest because they come into contact with so many people in their professional life, there are decent odds that they will know someone involved in the trial.
3. Clergy are likely to have worked closely with first responders (police, fire, emergency) as well as government officials. This is another conflict of interest when listening to testimony from such individuals.

There is nothing in Church law that would prevent deacons, priests, bishops or cardinals from serving on jury duty. However many court districts automatically exempt them.