Glendale, Burbank Courts to Institute 1-Trial Jury Plan

Beginning Sept. 1, jurors in Glendale and Burbank may complete their service in as little as one day, a judge announced Tuesday.

The one-trial program, which is already used in all other San Fernando Valley courts, is expected to boost participation on juries.

Because most jurors will serve less time under the new system, judges will crack down on financial hardship excuses, said Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Carl J. West, who supervises the courthouses in Glendale and Burbank.

“We’re not letting people go for financial hardship as easily as we did in the past,” West said during a media briefing in his Burbank courtroom. For example, jurors might be asked to serve a couple of extra days beyond what employers are willing to pay, he said.

Currently, Glendale and Burbank jurors serve at least two weeks, West said.

Under the new one-trial program, jurors may complete their service at the end of their first day in court if they are not selected for a trial. If they are, they must serve until the trial ends.

Jurors for courts that have the one-trial program, which includes Van Nuys, San Fernando and Pasadena, are about three times more likely to show up than courts that don’t have the program, said Jerrianne Hayslett, spokeswoman for the Superior Court.

But the program has also caused headaches for judges and court staff because many more jurors are needed to feed the system. As a result, courts occasionally have run out of jurors, forcing trial delays.

“The initial stages of implementing [the one-trial program] can be difficult,” West said.