Realizing the need for people to appear for jury service and that many jurors lack means of transportation, Wayne County Circuit Court is offering bus tickets to jurors experiencing financial hardship to fulfill their civic duty.
"We are in the midst of using many strategies to ensure that jurors appear for service," said Chief Judge Robert J. Colombo Jr. "And, providing bus tickets is one of the ways that Third Circuit Court plans to use to reduce the failure to appear rates."
Many jurors who have appeared have inquired if there are bus tickets available as they had to get family or friends to bring them to the courthouse. While there are other factors that contribute to the failure to appear rates, transportation costs appear to be one of the major concerns for jurors.
Bus tickets along with necessary transfers will be given to jurors upon request who need to return home from jury service and those jurors that have been seated on a jury panel and need bus tickets to return for subsequent days. The target date for availability of the tickets is May 1.
Jurisdictions such as the Municipal Courts of Seattle Washington and Houston Texas are other examples that have implemented transportation initiatives to help jurors.
Jury service is a privilege of American citizenship and the Wayne County Third Circuit Court is committed to making jury duty accessible for all Wayne County residents.
Published: Wed, Mar 22, 2017
