Jury selection process erodes faith in ability to reform
I just received my third summons to appear for jury duty in Toronto and the communication process seems to be much more difficult than it used to be.
So as the complex conversations around jury lists, jury pay and jury selection continue, maybe we could tackle something a little simpler — communication with potential jurors around scheduling.
Having served on a jury — listened to testimony, participated in deliberations and been in the courtroom when a verdict was delivered — I can tell you that it was a sobering experience that we all took very seriously.
Afterward, the juror we had chosen to deliver the verdict confided he was taken aback by how much he felt the weight of responsibility when he stood to tell the judge what we had decided. And our trial didn’t involve a death.
Completing jury duty will never be easy but scheduling it shouldn’t be an obstacle.
The first time I was summoned was in the 1990s. I was a fairly new classroom teacher and felt I couldn’t miss class time, especially if selected for a long trial, so called and asked for a deferral until the summer. The deferral was granted; I appeared for duty and served on a jury. As I recall, I called once and spoke to a person directly to make arrangements.
The next time I was summoned, it was the early 2000s; I had just given birth and was breastfeeding my baby. I called. Someone answered and I asked if bringing a newborn to jury selection could be accommodated. I was excused.
I received my most recent summons on a Monday instructing me to appear in five week’s time. Since I am currently teaching a university course, I thought it would be best for me and for my students to defer until after the term ended so I called the number printed on my summons. Multiple times.
I always received the recorded message that I had reached the correct number but the office might be closed or they were busy helping other potential jurors. I was encouraged to call again at a different time or try an alternate method of communication.
So, I emailed my request and received an autoreply ending with, “Thank you in advance for your patience as we respond to emails in priority sequence.”
Of course, it said I could also check the website, call, go in person or send regular mail with my questions.
In the meantime, I contacted the university and prepared my documentation. I also tried to call at different times on the following two days with no success. Then, I realized I would be close to the courthouse later in the week so went to see if I could make arrangements in person. No luck.
I was told very politely that there were only two people who answered the phone. They had stacks of regular mail and email to go through and they wouldn’t get to me for weeks because my date was still too far in the future. It might have been possible to arrange things in person if I had not already entered the email queue.
So I have to wait. But how am I supposed to plan?
My schedule is quite flexible compared to others. I live in Toronto within a short subway ride of the courthouse. I’m willing and able to fulfil my civic duty. However, I’ve already spent many hours trying to navigate the scheduling process. What of others with much more challenging circumstances?
With the technology available today, it would seem reasonable to believe that managing the jury pool would be easier than it was in the 1990s. But that does not appear to be the case.
So, a simple first step to improving the jury process might be to look at how the jury pool is summoned and scheduled. If something as simple as scheduling can’t be improved, how can we hope for anything else?