By Kate Medema

Staff Writer

When summoned for jury service, the response of the general public is almost unanimously negative.

With the recent introduction of a new jury system in the Kent County Circuit Court, administrators hope to curtail the many woes surrounding this civic duty.

``We have had a goal for a long time to implement a shorter jury system by 2002,'' said Circuit Court Administrator of Management Kim Foster. Activated on Jan. 7, the new automated system promises Kent County residents a commitment of one week or one trial, rather than the former 20-year-old system, in which trials could last up to 1 1/2 months.

Under this system potential jurors were habitually frustrated by the phone system they were required to call for an entire month, which utilized an answering machine that went through a list of hundreds of jury numbers.

``One thing we had to have in place was an interactive voice response system,'' said Foster. Jurors are now informed through an automated phone system in which they enter a PIN and are notified by the end of the week whether or not they are required to serve on a jury.

Previously, jurors were given less than 24-hours notice as to when they would have to serve. At times nearly 200 people had to sit for hours waiting to find out if they were even chosen for a trial.

``You feel like when you're there you are incessantly being pushed through the system,'' said Calvin Communication Arts and Sciences Professor Stephanie Sandberg, who served under the previous jury system in early December. ``You feel like people are there to get it over with, and there's no personal conviction about being there.''

Sandberg proposes that the new system will help curb the inefficiency of employees of the courts, as well as the jurors: ``They are trying to automate things so people's attitudes don't get in the way of the process.''

With shorter jury terms, individuals will not find it as imperative to come up with an excuse to avoid serving on a jury.

``Every lawyer thinks [the new system] is going to be a great idea, principally because jurors will be more interested in serving,'' said trial attorney William Mills. ``There are less reasons for excuses because it's more predictable.''

Another cause of the change was in response to pressure from the Grand Rapids Bar Association, which was concerned with diversity in jury pools.

``There has been a fear that minorities are not able to get time off from work. There are problems with child care and job pressure. Studies have shown that the shorter terms ease this pressure,'' attorney Anne Cooper told the Grand Rapids Press.

With a greater sample of the population, court officials hope that the primary goal of the judicial system will be met. ``We process more people so more of the community will come through,'' said Foster.

The only setback that has happened so far occurred last month when a glitch in the phone system put proceedings of one case on hold. The phone system was misprogrammed for a one-day/one-trial system, resulting in the appearance of only 18 of the 165 citizens that were summoned.

``The last two weeks have been much smoother,'' said Foster.

The new Kent County jury system is expected to set statewide standards that implement a shorter term. The new system does not, however, imply that all cases will last less than a week.

``The big issue will be exposed when someone has to pick a jury and tell them the trial might last six weeks. We will see then how they react,'' Judge Dennis Kolenda told the Grand Rapids Press.

The Circuit Court oversees civil cases over $28,000, juvenile cases and felony charges. Foster stated that murder trials most often continue past the one-week quota.

Selected at random, any Kent County resident over the age of 18 with a valid Michigan driver's license is eligible to serve on a jury. However, Foster noted that the courts are often willing to work with students of the community who have prior obligations.

The new system aims to combat negative attitudes towards civic duty and other issues that may intervene with the judicial system. ``Justice isn't just for one person,'' said Sandberg, ``it's for the entire society.''