Jurors must report to the Monmouth Count Courthouse in Freehold to serve jury duty. STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER ERIC SUCAR The jury duty process, deeply rooted in English history and well established in New Jersey, continues to evolve.
The right to trial by jury in the United States dates to Colonial times. The civic duty is discussed in the 1776 Declaration of Independence and is guaranteed by the Sixth and Seventh Amendments to the United States Constitution and in Article One of the New Jersey Constitution.
In recent years, the New Jersey Judiciary rolled out an online jury duty reporting system as well as a “NJJuror” app enabling jurors to get helpful, current information about their jury service to streamline and bring the process to the 21st century.
“We have implemented a lot of technology to make jury service work as easy as possible,” said Winnie Comfort, communications director with the New Jersey Judiciary. “The app has been a big hit with jurors as well as receiving text messages on whether or not they have to show up.”
So far this year some 211,641 — 199,061 petit jurors and 12,580 grand jurors have reported to courthouses across the state for jury duty.
The number of summoned jurors who opted to receive text messages in calendar year 2014 was 288,512. Only jurors who respond online can sign up for texts, according to Comfort.
The number of texts sent to jurors was 945,260. Participating jurors are sent reminder texts four days prior to summons date and/or texts with call-off information the evening before each reporting date. There is also a verification text sent after signing up Juror selection is a random process. Prospective jurors, chosen from a compilation of registered drivers, registered voters, and state income tax and homestead rebate filers, are selected by computer in no particular order.
The juror source list is updated annually.
Jurors may be summoned for one of three types of jury service — Petit Jury, which includes criminal and civil trials; a Grand Jury, which determines whether there is sufficient evidence to move forward with criminal charges against a defendant; and/or a state Grand Jury, which has statewide jurisdiction and representation and meets in Trenton rather than one of the county seats.
The qualifications to serve as a juror include being at least 18 years old; a New Jersey resident; a U.S. citizen, physically and mentally able to perform the functions of a juror; must not have been convicted of an indictable offense; and required to be able to read and understand English.
Grounds for excuse from jury service include age 75 or older; medical inability to serve; active member of a volunteer fire department, fire patrol, first aid or rescue squad; care for a minor child or a sick, aged, or infirm dependent; provide highly specialized technical health care services; health care worker directly involved in the care of a mentally or physically handicapped person; already served as a juror in the same county within the last three years; full-time teacher of a grammar/high school during the school year for which a replacement cannot be reasonably obtained; suffer severe financial hardship; and on active duty as a member of the United States military.
Police officers and prosecutors are disqualified from serving as grand jurors, but they may serve as petit jurors.
State Sen. James W. Holzapfel (R-Ocean), who sits on the law and public safety committee, currently sponsors a bill amending grounds for excuse from jury service to include police officers from all types of jury service.
“Certain professions [like police officers] waste their time going to jury duty,” he said. “In my opinion no attorney would put [a police officer] on a jury.”
Holzapfel, who noted he previously served as Ocean County prosecutor from 1987 to 1992, said it creates a hardship for a small police department and community when a police officer is exercising his or her civic duty.
“They are receiving full salary sitting in a courtroom when in all likelihood an attorney will have a problem with someone having a background as a police officer, especially in a criminal case,” he said, adding small municipalities would have to make up for that shift with overtime from other officers. “[Overtime pay] is time and a half.”
Holzapfel said he has posted the bill for several years now. He said he hasn’t received any negative feedback on the bill.
Anthony DeBari, a defense attorney in Woodbridge, said it depends on the case if he were to select a police officer on a jury.
“For a criminal case, I wouldn’t have to think half a second to eliminate a police officer [from the pool of jurors],” he said. “For a personal injury case I would ask more questions.”
Another bill that is pending would exempt nursing mothers from jury duty. It is sponsored by state Sen. Diane B. Allen (RBurlington) and state Sen. Joseph Vitale (D-Middlesex).
Jurors who fail to respond or appear for jury duty may be punished for contempt of court and subject to a fine of up to $500 or imprisonment.
A juror’s daily fee is set by state statute at $5 per day for grand jurors and for petit jurors. Starting on the fourth consecutive day, jurors are paid an additional $35 per day.
David Lieberfarb, of Edison, said out of four times he has been summoned for jury duty, he was seated on an eight-member jury once in March 2010 in a civil case. The trial lasted four days. He said he enjoyed the process.
For information about jury duty service, visit www.judiciary.state.nj.us/juror.htm.