A Less Burdensome Jury Duty

It’s a Thursday morning in the San Fernando courthouse, and Los Angeles County Municipal Court Judge Randy Rhodes is doing everything he can to persuade his prospective jurors to stay put.

A handful are begging the judge to excuse them, saying they are freelancers missing out on work or the only one in their office who understands how to do the payroll. Their pleas have already been denied twice--once when they got their summons, again just that morning in the jury waiting room--and Rhodes patiently explains that under the county’s new “one day, one trial” jury service program, exemptions are harder to come by. If he excuses them from this panel and sends them back to the waiting room, they could be assigned to another courtroom and wind up on a trial that would last longer than the three or four days this one is expected to take.

The reluctant jurors quiet down and Rhodes’ assistant calls the first 12 names to take a seat. Randomly selected, the prospective jurors make up a mini-mosaic of Los Angeles: men, women, young, old, Latino, African American, Asian, white. In sometimes accented English, they state their names and occupations: a quality-control manager at an aerospace company, a second-grade teacher, a writer for an animated TV show, a nurse, a bartender, a stockbroker, a truck driver.

With never-failing politeness (he calls them sir and ma’am; few return the courtesy) and occasional gentle humor, Rhodes asks questions and probes the answers. Whole human dramas unfold in a single sentence. Tension mounts when a question elicits a long, drawn-out silence punctuated by a terse yes or no.

Some of the 12 are dismissed and replaced as Rhodes continues his questioning, joined by the prosecutor and defense attorney. One would-be juror--who had earlier asked to be excused--is dismissed. She now seems reluctant to go.

Jury selection is not completed by 4:30 p.m., when the court closes, so the entire group is asked to return. The next morning, when Rhodes comes out of his courtroom to say that the case has been settled and those waiting are dismissed, their duty done, some almost seem disappointed. Others scurry for the door. “This is the kind of jury service I like,” said a man who had earlier wanted a waiver.

The one-day, one-trial program, mandated by state law and in place since spring in 11 of the county’s 35 courthouses, including Lancaster, Newhall and Van Nuys, has helped make jury service more palatable.

Yes, it’s harder to get an exemption. But instead of spending 10 days working puzzles and watching television in a stuffy waiting room, prospective jurors are on call for five days. If called in, their service is complete after one day if they’re not assigned to a jury and after one trial if they are.

Jurists such as Rhodes who treat jurors with respect and appreciation and who preach the importance of jury service also help ease the burden of jury duty. Whether from pride at being part of the justice system or intrigue at being in the middle of a real-life drama, even some skeptics found the experience--as Rhodes had promised--satisfying. Now that’s a welcome change.