Feb 18, 2016 4 min read

Officials in Washington County are looking to make the juror-selection process a smoother one for both residents and court personnel.

Washington County commissioners last month voted to award a five-year contract for a jury-management system to Courthouse Technologies of Vancouver, British Columbia.

District Court Administrator Patrick R. Grimm said the county will pay $25,000 a year for the service, which will use technology in a variety of areas in the jury process.

“Part of the idea is to cut down on ineffectiveness and use technology to our benefit and jurors’ benefit,” Grimm said. “We want to make the jury process as easy as possible.”

Computer software will guide the juror process from the beginning of the selection process through jurors reporting for duty.

Grimm said at the beginning of the selection process, the computer software will assist court personnel in obtaining a jury pool composed of “good jurors,” meaning honing in on accurate addresses to send summonses.

“We will send less summons with this system and be more accurate in what we do,” Grimm said. “Calling less jurors will save the county money.”

Washington County sends out about 6,500 juror summonses each year, Grimm said.

The software also gives jurors the ability to complete online questionnaires that accompany their summonses. Jurors now complete paper questionnaires that they mail. Grimm said the paper option will continue to exist.

“We want jurors to be able to go onto the Web and complete the questionnaires,” Grimm said.

Jurors also will have more flexibility in contacting the court to find out if they are required to appear for jury duty with an automated phone-in feature. Jurors will be directed to call the court and punch in a number displayed on their juror summons to obtain reporting information. Currently, jurors are directed to call in after 5 p.m. on the Friday before the jury term on Monday to find out if they are required to report.

The juror summonses will have bar codes so court personnel can determine if jurors completed their questionnaires. Grimm said the questionnaires will be scanned and stored electronically. The court currently stores the paper questionnaires.

The system also has a component whereby court personnel can send text messages to jurors reminding them to report for jury duty and giving directions to the courthouse and recommendations for parking.

The system also has 24-7 tech support, Grimm said.

Katie Curtis, deputy court administrator of budget and procurement, said she favored the Courthouse Technologies system over others she looked at because of the “ease of use.”

Scott Kerr, president of Courthouse Technologies, said the company provided jury-management systems for a number of counties in Pennsylvania, including York, Chester, Lebanon and Delaware, and also has clients in British Columbia, New Hampshire, North Dakota and Oklahoma.

“It will help them (in Washington County) be more effective and create a better experience for the jury,” Kerr said.

Jen Reider, deputy court administrator in York County, said the Courthouse Technologies case-management system was in place since 2011. The county sends out 6,000 juror summonses each year.

“The use of a jury-management system has allowed us to be more strategic,” Reider said.

Allegheny, Beaver, Butler and Montgomery counties also use jury-management systems.

Grimm said he expects the new system to be up and running for the June jury term.

President Judge Katherine B. Emery looks forward to the implementation of the new system.

“Jury service is an honor and privilege, and is essential to our system of justice,” Emery said. “It is our hope that the new jury-management system will make the jury process more accessible to potential jurors, as well as increase the efficiency of the court’s process for summoning jurors.”