TRENTON — When a jury call-off system was started more than a decade ago, prospective jurors were delighted at not having to sit for hours or days in a waiting room without being called for service. Continuing its attempt to improve jury service, the state judiciary has now gone cyber, allowing potential jurors to fill out their questionnaires online rather...
TRENTON — When a jury call-off system was started more than a decade ago, prospective jurors were delighted at not having to sit for hours or days in a waiting room without being called for service.
Continuing its attempt to improve jury service, the state judiciary has now gone cyber, allowing potential jurors to fill out their questionnaires online rather than mail back the paper forms.
What started out as a pilot program last summer has now spread to all 21 counties and court officials hope the system will catch on.
CUTTING COSTS
"The judiciary knows and appreciates the valuable time that jurors give to ensure fair trials," said Judge Glenn A. Grant, acting administrative director of the courts.
Several weeks before potential jurors are scheduled to serve, they are mailed questionnaires about their qualifications to serve.
Potential jurors must be U.S. citizens and New Jersey residents, physically and mentally fit, able to read and understand English, have no indictable offenses and be between 18 and 75 years old.
Michael Garrahan, jury programs manager for the state judiciary, said the online questionnaire, at njcourt.com/juror, started in Burlington and Atlantic counties last August and extended to the rest of the state two months later.
With some 1.3 million summonses issued annually, the judiciary is looking to improve the efficiency and accuracy of the system by reducing the handling of paper documents and eliminating the potential for data entry errors, Grant said. It also reduces costs to store the paper records, he said.
CONTINUING TO IMPROVE
Garrahan said about 20 percent of juror questionnaires sent out since August have been returned electronically, and his office is now trying to increase that figure as people get more familiar with the program.
"Many people do their banking and airlines reservations electronically, so they’re comfortable with that," he said.
New Jersey is not the first state to implement this system. Garrahan said several states are already taking online questionnaires. To further refine the program, court officials are asking jurors for feedback on the new method.
The system won’t help those looking to be excused from service. Documentation is required for most disqualifications and the system isn’t set up for accepting that paperwork electronically, Garrahan said.