Jefferson Co. jury duty could go digital

Potential jurors fill the impaneling room at the Jefferson County Courthouse on Monday. Using new technology, the District Clerk's office hopes to soon minimize Monday morning's regular congestion by sorting through prospective jurors online. Photo taken Monday, February 09, 2015 Guiseppe Barranco/The Enterprise less Potential jurors fill the impaneling room at the Jefferson County Courthouse on Monday. Using new technology, the District Clerk's office hopes to soon minimize Monday morning's regular congestion by sorting ... more Photo: Guiseppe Barranco, Photo Editor Photo: Guiseppe Barranco, Photo Editor Image 1 of / 23 Caption Close Jefferson Co. jury duty could go digital 1 / 23 Back to Gallery

On Monday mornings, the Jefferson County Courthouse parking lot looks like this: A car turns into one of the curb cuts, hoping to find a space, finds nothing in that row, flips around to go the other way and finds no space, all the while another car follows, looking for the same thing.

It's jury impaneling day, and that means an extra 400 or more people, usually driving their own cars, are reporting for duty.

Once a potential juror has found a place to park, he or she begins a tedious process.

The county's assistant district clerks call each person's name from the roll and assigns that person to one of a possible 10 different courts, to report as soon as possible or perhaps in the afternoon or even Tuesday or Wednesday.

A new system could fix all of that, from parking to checking in, to assignment, to whether you need to defer for the week you were called.

It's called "IJury," or Internet Jury. Newly elected District Clerk Jamie Smith will ask Commissioners Court to buy software available from Travis County, which developed IJury 12 years ago.

Smith said Internet Jury would allow potential jurors, once they have received their regular mail summons, to go online, register, receive a jury assignment and report at the time required.

It would just about eliminate the need to show up on Monday to check in personally.

People who do not have Internet access may still come to the Monday morning jury call and check in using the existing method.

Smith said the software would enable a juror to enter the code on a summons into the online check-in. The website would have a place to check when you are not available and when you are. Then the program assigns you to a court and a time.

Smith said the system sends an email reminder, confirming the date and if the case cancels, the juror gets an email follow-up.

Smith said the system has the potential in the future to save as much as $80,000 to $90,000 a year.

In 2014, the district clerk's office spent $94,102 on jury summonses. It spent 40 cents for postage, adding another $37,640 to reach a weekly jury pool of 2,500.

Smith said moving to an Internet-based selection also would improve the "jury wheel," or the rotation on which jurors are called.

"Jury service is spaced better," he said. "It should be once every 2 1/2 to 3 years."

DWallach@BeaumontEnterprise.comTwitter.com/dwallach