The state Judiciary has launched an online feature allowing prospective petit jurors to check if they are needed.
Prospective jurors from all counties can visit www.njcourtsonline.com and click on the “Check Jury Duty Reporting Message” icon to find out whether they will be needed the following day. The icon connects to a list of counties that then link to jury service information and a notice of which numbers are on call or excused. The information on the link refers to jurors’ assigned numbers and not juror names.
This additional service was first used in Burlington and Ocean counties, where local court staff and central office support staff tested and improved the procedures.
In order to lessen inconvenience for jurors and reduce costs, jury managers fine-tune the number of jurors needed at the courthouse the next day based on that day’s trial needs. Jurors who are instructed not to report to the courthouse on that day but who haven’t completed their service still must check if their number is called for the following day.
The online service supplements the Judiciary’s call-in system, which is still in service.
Judge Philip Carchman, administrative director of New Jersey’s courts, stated that the new system is designed to acknowledge that people have other commitments than jury duty. “We want to minimize the inconvenience associated with jury duty as much as possible,” he said.
