The Juror's Creed

I am a juror.

I am a seeker after truth.

I must listen carefully and with concentration to all the evidence.

I must heed and follow the instructions of the Court.

I must respectfully and attentively follow the arguments of the lawyers, dispassionately seeking to find and follow the silver thread of truth through their conflicting assertions.

I must lay aside all bias and prejudice.

I must be led by my intelligence and not by my emotions.
Gavel
I must respect the opinions of my fellow jurors, as they must respect mine, and in a spirit of tolerance and understanding must endeavor to bring the deliberations of the whole jury to agreement upon a verdict, but

I must never assent to a verdict which violates the instructions of the court or which finds as a fact that which, under the evidence and in my conscience, I believe to be untrue.

In fine, I must apply the Golden Rule by putting myself impartially in the place of the plaintiff and of the defendant, remembering that although I am a juror today passing upon the rights of others, tomorrow I may be a litigant whose rights other jurors shall pass upon.

My Verdict must do justice, for what is just is true and righteous altogether"; and when my term of jury service is ended, I must leave it with my citizenship unsullied and my conscience clear.

Judge John H. Flanigan,
Carthage, Missouri