Click on a topic below for help in a specific area or refer to YOUR NEXT STEP located at the top of your case for instructions on what to do next.
The Rules of the Courtroom
- Case must be accepted by defendant within 24 hours.
- All arguments must be entered within 24 hours of the preceding argument.
- A verdict must be rendered within 24 hours of the defendant's closing arguments.
- The case must receive 3 votes from a jury to be official. If the case receives less than 7 votes, the case will be decided by the judge.
- If the case ends in a tie (Hung Jury), the case will be decided by the judge.
- The Judge can throw out a case at his discretion.
How to...
1) Create Login/Username
Click on the Sign Up link on the upper right hand corner of the site.
Fill in all required information.
Choose a Username. We recommend not using your real name. Your username will be displayed on any case you participate in on the site so its better to use and alias like FancyPants than using Joe Smith.
Agree to the Terms and Conditions. You must do this to use Instant Jury.
2) Sue' em
Now that you have created your login/username, its time to sue the pants off someone! Follow the steps below to summons your pals to court.
To Sue Someone, follow the steps below:
- Case Title - Be brief but creative. You want to lure possible jurors who will be browsing the site. Ex: Instead of "I Can't Stand My Roommate" you could title the case "The Jerk Who Never Sleeps." You get the idea. Have fun with it.
- Case Summary - Here is where you want to briefly describe your case. Be careful not to give too much away. Just let the jury know what the case is about. Using the example above, a good description would be " My roommate is up all hours watching tv with the volume on high." You can elaborate further in your opening arguments.
- Your Stakes - What good is it to sue someone if you can't get something out of it? Here is where you can set some stakes on the case. The loser has to do ________ for the winner. Ex: Loser has to clean the apartment for one month.
- Defendant's first/last name - You must insert the defendants first and last name so we know who to summons. NOTE: THE DEFENDANTS NAME WILL NOT APPEAR ANYWHERE ON THE SITE.
- Defendant's email: Type in the defendant's email where you want the summons to be sent.
- Click Submit
Once you click submit, you will be taken to a summary page of the case you have just created. Review all of the information to make sure it is correct.
Once you have reviewed all of the information, click on the OPEN YOUR CASE button at the bottom of the screen. The defendant has now been sent an email with the case details. You must now wait for the defendant to accept the stakes and agree to appear. Once accepted, open arguments will commence.
3) To defend yourself, follow these steps:
Click the link provided in the email or go www.instantjury.com and log on. If you do not have a login/username, follow the steps at the top of the page.
The link will take you to a page called " My Case File". This is where all of the cases you are involved in will be stored. Locate the case that you have just been summoned to and click on the case number to open.
Review the case details so you know what you are being summoned for.
Review the stakes of the case. If you would like to revise the stakes, click on the "propose new stakes" button and enter your revision. If not, click on the "agree to stakes" button.
Once the stakes have been agreed upon, the case is officially open. You must wait while the plaintiff enters their opening arguments and evidence. In the meantime, start preparing your defense!
4) To enter opening arguments for the plaintiff, follow these steps:
Once the defendant has agreed upon the stakes, you will be sent an email notification. Either click on the link in the email or sign on to instantjury.com and go to My Case File. Locate the proper case and click on the case number to open.
Use the text box to enter your argument. Try to be descriptive but brief. You don't want to put the jury to sleep!
If you want to enter evidence, see below. If not, click submit to publish your arguments to the site. NOTE: This is the only time during the trial that you can submit evidence.
5) To enter evidence, follow these steps:
Click on browse and select the file from your computer you wish to upload. Pictures, movies etc. Click submit to publish your arguments and evidence to the site. Files accepted: avi, mpg, flv, mp3, wav, gif, png, jpg, jpeg, bmp, ico.
6) To enter opening arguments for the defendant, follow these steps:
Once the plaintiff has entered opening arguments, you will be sent an email notification. Either click on the link in the email or sign on to instantjury.com and go to My Case File. Locate the proper case and click on the case number to open.
Review the plaintiff's argument and any evidence. You must open any evidence file before you can continue.
Use the text box to enter your argument. Try to be descriptive but brief. You don't want to put the jury to sleep!
If you want to enter evidence, see below. If not, click submit to publish your arguments to the site. NOTE: This is the only time during the trial that you can submit evidence.
7) To admit guilt:
You can plead guilty to the charges at any time during the case by clicking the "admit guilt" button that appears under your username.
8) Join the Jury
Browse cases or Search by title, description or case category in the upper right hand corner of the home page.
Click on a case to open it.
Click on JOIN THE JURY at the top of the case page.
The case will be added to My Case File so you can reference it at any time. You can follow the case during all steps of the process but cannot vote until closing arguments are finished.
An email alert will be sent to you when the jury deliberations begin.
Once closing arguments have been entered, you can vote for the person you think is right. NOTE : YOU MUST REVIEW ALL EVIDENCE BEFORE YOU CAN PLACE YOUR VOTE.
9) Comments Section
Browse cases or search by title, description or case category on the home page or from the menu column.
Open the case and leave comments using the text box located at the bottom of the page.
You can also use this section as the plaintiff or defendant to leave any additional arguments at any time during the trial.
10) Upload a Profile Picture
Sign in and go to My Case File. Select My Account from the left hand menu column. Select Browse and choose the photo you wish to use.
11) Tell Your Friends About a Case
Click this link on any open case. Enter your friends email addresses in the box provided. Separate each email address by inserting a comma between them. You may enter a personal message if you wish.
12)User Levels
Each time you serve as a juror, you will receive a juror credit. The higher juror level the achieve, the more respect and power you will have at Instant Jury. TBA- Contests, additional features, and access will be held monthly for each user level.
13) FAQ's
Why did the person I'm suing not receive an email?
You did not click OPEN THE CASE. After you enter all the case information and click submit, you will be taken to a summary page. After reviewing your case info, you must click OPEN THE CASE for an email to be sent to the defendant.
If you did the step above, an email was sent but may have been quarantined by a email server or ended up in the junk mail folder of the defendant's inbox. Tell the defendant to check in that folder.
Why was I not able to enter arguments?
If you were not able to enter arguments and the box on your side of the screen says " No evidence entered' then you did not enter your arguments in the allotted time (24 hours). You must enter arguments within the time parameters. You may continue the case but your opponent may have the advantage.
My Case is over. Why was a winner not declared?
Your case resulted in a Hung Jury. This means that the number of jury votes was tied. The Judge will be notified and will decide the winner.
If you are still having trouble, contact us through the link at the bottom of the page.
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