Mock Jury Studies, Explained

A mock jury is the one kind of paid research most people have heard of and almost nobody has done. Attorneys hire ordinary members of the public to hear a case before it goes to trial, so they can find out how a real jury might react while there is still time to change the argument.

It is genuinely interesting work, it pays like professional research rather than a consumer survey, and it is harder to find than any other category on this site. Here is how it works and where it gets posted.

What you actually do

You are given the facts of a case, usually a civil dispute rather than a criminal one, and asked to respond as a juror would. Depending on the format that means:

• Reading a summary and answering questions online, in your own time. The shortest format.
• Joining a video panel where an attorney presents an argument and a moderator leads a discussion afterwards.
• Attending an in-person mock trial, sometimes a half or full day, with opening statements, evidence and deliberation.

Nobody is on trial. The case may be settled, pending, or reconstructed. Your job is to react honestly, including when your reaction is unflattering to the side paying for it — that is the entire value of the exercise.

What it pays

We publish what a study pays only when the organizer states it, and we do not have mock jury studies open often enough to quote a reliable range of our own. What can be said about the structure:

• Mock juries are generally paid per case or per session rather than by the hour.
• In-person mock trials pay the most, because they take the most time — often most of a day.
• Short online verdict reviews pay the least, and take the least.
• The figure is always on the organizer's own page. If a listing anywhere does not state one, treat that as missing information rather than an invitation to guess.

When mock jury studies are open here, each listing shows the stated pay and, where a duration is given, what it works out to per hour.

Who can take part

Eligibility is stricter than for a focus group, and for a specific reason: the exercise is worthless if the panel does not resemble a real jury.

• You usually have to be jury-eligible in the venue where the case would be heard — which is why so many mock juries recruit by county rather than by city.
• Conflicts disqualify you. Any connection to the parties, the attorneys, or the subject matter, and you are out.
• Attorneys and legal professionals are often excluded from the jury side, since the point is a lay reaction.
• Confidentiality is normal. Expect to agree not to discuss the case.

Where they are posted

Mock juries are recruited by legal research firms rather than by the consumer panels that run most focus groups, so they rarely appear on the big platforms. That is the main reason they are hard to find.

• Our mock jury category page lists any that are currently open and verified.
• Our research company directory includes the legal research firms we have reviewed, with links to their own boards. Joining a panel is not the same as applying to a study, but it is how most people hear about these first.
• Because they recruit by venue, it is worth checking the state pages for your own area rather than only the national list.

How to spot a fake

The pay rates make this category a favourite for scams. The rules are the same as anywhere else on this site, and they are absolute:

• You never pay to take part. No registration fee, no background check fee, no deposit.
• Nobody sends you a check to forward on. That is a well-worn fraud, not a study.
• A real firm has a real practice behind it — a website, a business address, named people.
• Your Social Security number is for tax paperwork after you are selected, not part of an application form.

Looking now? Check open mock jury studies, or read how to tell a legitimate study from a scam.

Disclaimer

FocusGroupMoney.com is an independent directory. We are not the organizer of any study listed here, we are not paid to list one, and we cannot decide who qualifies or how quickly anyone is paid — the organizer sets eligibility, timing and terms. Figures in this guide are drawn from the studies open on this site at the time the page is loaded and will change as the catalogue does. Nothing here is medical, legal or financial advice. A legitimate study never asks you to pay a fee to take part.