Over 130 million people watched the O.J Simpson trial 20 years ago and I wonder how many of them said to themselves, “I should have been on that jury”. I also wonder how many mock trials the attorneys from both sides of the aisle conducted, before the real thing got under way.
Mock jury trials help the lawyers to feel out the sentiment of regular folks about facts, lies or misleading statements they may be presented with during a trial, helps them in the jury selection process, and shaping their case.
Back then, with the Internet still in its infancy, these imitated trials were held in a courtroom setting with real people acting as jurors, and these folks received a fee for participating. Well, nowadays there are several companies who specialize in conducting online mock trials and pay a fee to the mock jurors, in order to gather feedback from a large panel of jurors, without the traditionally high costs of live focus groups and mock trials. If you are interested in making some extra cash as a mock juror, this review is definitely for you.
What Is Jury Workshop?
Jury Workshop, located in East Hartford, CT, provides a service to trial lawyers finding out what everyday folks think about a case they are preparing to be heard in court. They prepare a case based on the information they get from either the defense lawyer or the prosecutor, organize the material in a standard format, and invite a certain number of mock jurors to study the material, and come up with a verdict.
Of course, conducting these mock trials online allows Jury Workshop to get the opinion from a large number of people in a shorter time, than it was possible in the old days. Usually, they invite up to 50 folks to share their opinion.
How You Become A Mock Juror For Juror Workshop:
Jury Workshop Requirements:
- At least 18 years of age
- You must be a US Citizen
- Lived in Current County or City for 6 Months
- Eligible To Vote
- Not Convicted Of A Felony
If you satisfy these simple requirements, visit the Jury Workshop website and start the application process.
The Jury Workshop Application Process:
Answer a few questions about your qualifications (minimum requirements).
- Continue on to a demographic survey: Complete an online survey about yourself.
- Find out your Personality Type: Answer a quick questionnaire to identify your personality type.
- Training: Participate in two in-depth training modules about participating as an online juror.
- Check your Email: You will be notified by email if you have been accepted to participate in Jury Workshop services.
How Does Jury Workshop Work?
Participate: Follow instructions in subsequent email to participate in Jury Workshop services. Here is an important hint! Respond to the email invite as soon as you see it. The first 16 invitees to accept the assignment have the choice to get paid in cash, or accumulate points in the Jury Workshop Bank. If you are not among the first 16, you still get paid in points.
What is the work? You need to carefully review all the given information, use common sense to weigh the argument of both sides, be impartial in finding your verdict. You will have to answer some additional questions, and explain the reasons for your decision. The whole process should take about 1 to 1 ? hours.
Get Compensated: Once you have completed an assignment, choose to be paid in cash via PayPal (if you made it into to first 16), or accumulate prize points in the Jury Workshop Point Bank.
How Much Does Jury Workshop Pay?
You'll like this! Jury Workshop pays you $25 per completed mock jury duty after review by the attorney, usually within a few days. Payment is made via PayPal and since there is no cash-out threshold, you'll get paid right away. That's pretty good, in my opinion. I reviewed a similar outfit some years back, and eJury pays their mock jurors only $5 to $10 per completed task.
In addition, you will get 10 points for each completed assignment that did not qualify for cash payment, or you chose to defer into the Jury Workshop Bank. Twice a year, Jury Workshop members who have accumulated the most points will be rewarded with a $100 gift card of their choice. How many of these cards are they giving away? Unfortunately, my research gurus were not able to find out.
What Are The Jury Workshop Complaints?
I can put your mind at ease; there are hardly any complaints. The handful of reviews my team was able to dig up came all from mock jurors and were nothing but positive. However, I have a few concerns to bring to your attention.
No Consistent Income
You went through all the hoops to get accepted but the calls to duty are few and far in between. This seems to be the case especially if you live in a low population County, far away from a big city. In other words, if you live out in the boondocks somewhere, you may never have a chance to participate.
You see what I am talking about. But one never knows, and there is no harm done by applying. The opportunity provided by Jury Workshop is definitely not a full time job, nor is it one that will make you a few hundred bucks every month. But if you are lucky enough to live in the right area, you may get a couple of calls a month and earn an extra 50 bucks.
Confirm Your Identity
Jury Workshop may ask you for your Driver's License information. I know that a lot of people are weary to give out this info, especially on the internet. But it is necessary so they can confirm your identity, and also to check if you have any felony convictions (or other skeletons) hidden somewhere.
Is Jury Workshop Legit or A Scam?
Jury Workshop is 100% legitimate and well regarded in the industry. They get a lot of positive feedback; not only from participants in paid mock jury trials, but also from their clients, who, after all is said and done, pay for the service. Hopefully now that you know about this company, you can make a few extra dollars. True, you can't depend on it to pay your bills, but if you follow this blog, you know that Eddy with a Y is a firm believer in maintaining multiple income streams. So this can be one of the many opportunities you can benefit from. But some others you may want to consider to improve your chances of working from home are My Top Free Work At Home Recommendations and My Courses on Making Money Online. When you couple all these things together it really improves your chances of successfully working from home. It also helps you avoid the trap of just depending on one source of income which can be snatched away from you in one shot. Anyone that has been unemployed knows this reality all too well.
So don't limit yourself my friends. Stay open to as many legitimate options as you can. Well I hope you found this article useful. If so, I want to hear from you. So post a comment down below.
Thanks for reading.
Eddy with a y