Potential jurors are typically summoned from lists like voter registration or driver's license records, with courts aiming to draw from a broad, representative cross-section of the community. This initial pool is often much larger than the number of jurors ultimately needed.

From this pool, a smaller panel is randomly selected and brought into the courtroom for questioning, beginning the voir dire process that narrows the group down to the final jury.

During voir dire, the judge and sometimes the attorneys ask potential jurors questions about their background, life experiences, beliefs, and any connections to the parties, witnesses, or subject matter of the case. The goal is to surface anything that might affect a juror's ability to be fair and impartial.

Jurors may be questioned as a group or individually, depending on the court's practices and the sensitivity of the case, and the scope of permissible questioning is generally set by the judge.

A challenge for cause allows an attorney to ask the judge to excuse a juror for a specific, articulable reason, such as a clear bias or an inability to be impartial, and there is generally no limit on how many of these challenges can be made if justified.

Peremptory challenges, by contrast, allow an attorney to remove a juror without stating a reason, but each side is typically given only a limited number. These challenges cannot be used to exclude jurors based on protected characteristics such as race or gender.

The number of jurors ultimately seated depends on the type of case and the jurisdiction's rules, and courts often select one or more alternate jurors in case a seated juror becomes unable to continue during trial.

Once the final jury is seated, the judge typically provides preliminary instructions on their role and responsibilities before the presentation of evidence begins.