Jury

The Jury consists of a group of eliminated castaways (typically past the merge portion of the competition) that return to witness the remaining Survivors' actions at Tribal Council. The information they take in from these visits is supposed to help them decide who to vote for to win the $1,000,000 prize and the title of Sole Survivor. They are usually forbidden to speak, with the exception of the Final Tribal Council, where they are allowed to address the finalists and ask them questions.

The Jury is comprised of either 7, 8, or 9 members.

Post-elimination
When Survivor jury members get voted out, they are whisked away to a camp called Ponderosa (not to be confused with the base camp where the production crew stays). The CBS website allows fans to see what happens behind the scenes as Jury members enter the camp and re-assimilate to life in the outside world. Jury members stay at Ponderosa until the day after Day 39 and are transported to every Tribal Council to get a glimpse at what is happening with the remaining castaways who are still in the running. While at Ponderosa, cast-offs enjoy movies, all the food they can eat, special excursions, bedding, showers, and many other luxuries not permitted during the game of Survivor. Additionally, the contestants get a chance to ponder on who they will vote for as the winner of the show, and conversations between the jurors at Ponderosa can decide the outcome of the season.

Final Tribal Council
On Day 39,except in the case of Australian Outback which lasted 42 days, at the Final Tribal Council, after hearing the finalists' opening words, every Jury member gives their Jury speech, giving a chance to ask them a question or make a comment regarding their game and the moves they made. After all jurors have spoken, the finalists give their final statements, trying to convince the Jury members to vote for them. The Jury then votes for a winner.

Exceptions to Speaking at Tribal Council
The members of the Jury are not permitted to speak during Tribal Council, in order to prevent them from influencing the game. They may, however, talk to one another. Usually, jury members express their thoughts and feelings through facial expressions, hand gestures and laughter, but there were four cases, when one of the jurors actually spoke during Tribal Council:
 * On Survivor: Marquesas, John Carroll was asked by Jeff Probst to tell the final three castaways and the other Jury members about Paschal English's condition (Paschal collapsed after being voted out, and was sent to a hospital. Because of this he missed said Tribal Council).
 * On Survivor: Micronesia, after Erik Reichenbach gave up his Immunity Necklace, James Clement stated that he was no longer the dumbest Survivor ever.
 * On Survivor: Micronesia on James Clement's first tribal council as a Jury Member after being Medically evacuated Jeff Probst asked James to explain to everyone why he had an IV bag of antibiotics.
 * On Survivor: Cook Islands, Jonathan Penner thanked Yul Kwon for bringing him his hat back.

Trivia

 * The jury has appeared in every season.
 * Rupert Boneham is the only player to be on three juries.
 * Rupert is the only contestant to vote for the same person in two separate seasons: he voted for Sandra Diaz-Twine on both Survivor: Pearl Islands and Survivor: Heroes vs Villains.
 * The only time he didn't vote for Sandra was during Survivor: All-Stars when he voted for Rob Mariano, due to Sandra not being a part of that season.
 * Despite playing the game four times, Rob Mariano has never been a member of the Jury. He was voted out one cycle before the Jury Phase on both Survivor: Marquesas and Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, and was a finalist on Survivor: All-Stars and Survivor: Redemption Island.
 * Russell Hantz is currently the only three-time participant to never be a Jury member.
 * According to the revisions of the Survivor Rulebook, depending on the circumstances, a person who quits during the Jury phase may not be included on the Jury. In such a case, the Jury can be comprised of less members than initially planned. So far, this never happened on Survivor.
 * Yul Kwon indirectly interacted with the jury before the finale on Survivor: Cook Islands, when he brought Jonathan Penner his hat, and placed it on the Jury bench before Penner arrived (Jonathan had requested for someone to return his hat when he was voted out of the game).
 * The only tribe not to be represented on the Jury by an original member is Aitutaki of Cook Islands.
 * However, one of its original members, Ozzy Lusth, was a jury member on his two other seasons: Micronesia and South Pacific.