A Madrid IT consultant’s name is among 2,846 residents drawn for possible jury service in 2025-26, and he could be called to serve in Begoña Gómez’s trial. “With my luck, I’m sure they’ll call me for the Begoña Gómez case,” he said. He was not alone: thousands across Madrid shared the worry as Spain began its biggest jury selection in years.
Antonio is not his real name. He’s in his fifties and works as an IT consultant. The letter from the Provincial Court’s Jury Office arrived in his mailbox in September 2024. It brought a wave of dread. “The first thing I thought was, what bad luck to be picked out of all Madrid’s census,” he remembers. The selection process is governed by Spain’s Organic Law 5/1995, which sets the rules for jury composition and selection.
He combed through the official pamphlet, looking for any way out. Over 65? Not yet. Disability? No. Had he served on a jury in the last four years? Never. Family obligations or a public job he couldn’t leave? Neither. Living abroad? Not even close. The list of possible exemptions ran out fast. He had no excuse that would work.
For two years, Antonio has lived with the chance of being called for any serious case, from murder to bribery, including failure to help. As his two-year window was about to close, the Gómez trial put him back in the spotlight. Judge Peinado’s decision to send Begoña Gómez, the Prime Minister’s wife, to trial for alleged influence peddling and embezzlement means Antonio could help decide her fate. Spanish media say the investigation lasted almost two and a half years and began after a complaint from Manos Limpias.
He doesn’t hide his doubts. “I don’t think it’s right that people without legal or police knowledge should decide if someone is innocent or guilty. That’s what experts are for,” he says. Serving on this jury worries him even more: “I wouldn’t like it. It’s a very high-profile case with a lot of pressure.”
Antonio also questions the government’s talk about impartiality. Asked whether jurors might be swayed by two years of media coverage, he says, “The government has also spent time talking about the case and trying to influence both judges and public opinion.” As El País and other outlets have reported, the political heat around the case has raised real concerns about bias. In the end, ordinary people will decide, rather than career judges.
He admits he only knows what he’s seen on TV about the charges against Gómez. He doesn’t know the full story. Still, he hopes he won’t be among the 36 called for pre-trial selection. The 2,846 residents were preselected from the 2025-2026 electoral rolls; after initial selection, 36 candidates will be called for the Gómez trial. At least 20 must pass further screening, and the final jury will have nine jurors and two alternates. Both sides can veto four people each.
This jury selection has already drawn national attention, as reported earlier. For Antonio and others, the issue is being drawn into a system that puts ordinary people at the center of extraordinary events.
Spain’s use of lay juries in tough, high-profile cases keeps sparking debate. People like Antonio expose the tension between letting citizens decide and relying on expert judgment in court.
