What Recession? Mich. County's Pagers Will Let Potential Jurors Shop
No-shows for jury duty could soon be much less of a problem in one Michigan county, which plans to distribute pagers in the near future so that potential jurors can shop at downtown stores while they are waiting to be called into a courtroom.
The new system will require prospective jurors in Macomb County to return to the courthouse within 10 minutes of being paged, reports the National Law Journal. It is one of a number of new options and incentives being offered at courthouses around the country, to make showing up for jury service less burdensome.
In Allegheny County, Pa., the courthouse has offered free child care services for about three years.
“It has really shown prospective jurors that we’re thinking about them, we understand what their problems are and we are willing to make services available at no cost to help us in the system of justice,” says Raymond Billotte, the court administrator for the 5th Judicial District there.
