VICTORIA – A web-based system called eResponse that will give potential jurors the option of responding to summonses electronically will be piloted for a number of upcoming civil trials, Attorney General Michael de Jong, QC, announced today.
“By making it possible to respond to summonses online, we are enabling British Columbians to contact the sheriff service from their homes, in any corner of the province, at any time of day,” de Jong said.
Citizens summonsed to provide a panel of potential jurors for upcoming trials are selected at random from the provincial voters list and a paper summons is sent in the mail. This step will not change. Jurors participating in the pilot will be able to use the Internet to verify if they can participate in the jury selection process, rather than mailing in their response or travelling to their local courthouse during business hours.
“Reducing paper use and associated costs ultimately means savings for taxpayers and frees up time B.C.’s sheriff service normally devotes to processing paper summonses, allowing sheriffs to perform other duties vital to court operations,” the attorney general added.
Similar eResponse jury selection programs are currently in use in some United States communities. B.C.’s eResponse system will be the first of its kind in Canada.
Once the pilot is complete, eResponse will be available across the province for criminal and civil trials.
