Submitted but San Juan County.

San Juan County Superior Court and District Court are implementing a new online portal to communicate with potential jurors. San Juan County is pleased to announce this improved access to the judicial system.

The Courts share a jury manager who, each week, sends paper summons to residents to appear for future trial dates. Jurors have five business days to fill out and return the juror profile attached to the summons. Previously, jurors had to return the juror profile by dropping it off at the courthouse or sending it by mail. Now, with the new juror web portal, jurors can follow a link to fill out the questionnaire electronically and can sign up for email or text alerts regarding the status of the scheduled trial.

“Responding to a summons helps us tremendously in our trial planning process,” said District Court Judge Carolyn Jewett. “Even if you’re asking to be excused from jury service, it’s important for us to know how many people we can expect in the courtroom on the morning of trial. We hope the online portal removes a few steps and makes it that much easier for folks to respond.”

Jurors still have the option of responding on paper, but many may find it faster and easier to respond to a summons online. Jurors have to handwrite responses on the paper questionnaire, whereas online, responses can be typed. Furthermore, courts across the state have seen lower response rates to summons throughout the pandemic, and San Juan County Courts want to encourage participation by making it easier for jurors to complete.

“Jury duty is a vital civic duty and is integral to our criminal justice system. With this new web portal, San Juan County residents can fulfill their duty much more conveniently,” said Superior Court Judge Katie Loring.

The new jury web portal can be found at https://juryweb.sanjuanco.com/login.