Jurors Now Serve One Day or One Trial

Gwinnett County has implemented a “one day-one trial” option for jury service that reduces the inconvenience for jurors and saves the county money. The new program went into effect Nov. 1 following a pilot project that saved the county $4,000 over a four-week period, according to an announcement by the county. Over a year’s time, this would result in a savings of about $100,000.

Each trial judge summoned a pool of jurors for each individual case under the previous system. Usually fewer jurors were actually needed. Civil cases often settle on the eve of trial, and criminal defendants often decide to enter a guilty plea rather than have a jury decide their fate.

After waiting for most of the day, the jurors called in for cases that were settled would be sent home with instructions to be on call for the rest of the week. Jury duty required a week-long commitment even if the juror was never actually needed for a trial.

State Court Judge Randy Rich, who headed the pilot project, used new jury management software to come up with a way to provide judges with enough jurors while reducing the number called. The new software was developed and implemented by Clerk of Court Tom Lawler and Chief Deputy Clerk Richard Alexander.

“After analyzing the new data, we were able to see the accumulated numbers of jurors that were brought to the courthouse week after week but not used for a trial,” said Judge Rich in the announcement. “We also found that even though the jurors were placed on call for the rest of the week, they rarely were brought back for another trial.”

Judges with trials scheduled for Monday pull jurors from a general pool under the new program, which reduces the total number of jurors brought to the courthouse by 20 percent. During the course of the day, jurors may be required to participate in multiple courtroom panels. At the end of the day, potential jurors who are not selected for a trial are released for the entire week, while those who are selected are released as soon as their one trial is complete.

The new method saves the county $30 per day for every juror who is not brought to the courthouse. The reductions also ease parking congestion and reduce long lines for security screenings for jurors.