Pierce County's switch last year to shorter periods of jury duty for its citizens is now the norm for the rest of Washington. Governor Jay Inslee last Wednesday signed into state law a change in the time period a person summoned for jury duty must be available. In large counties, the term has been reduced from one month to two weeks. In smaller counties, it's down from two weeks to one week. The legislation, which the Legislature passed last month, also allows potential jurors to be excused if they served at least one week of jury duty in the previous 12 months. Pierce County Superior Court, following a growing trend of shorter jury service among courts nationally, adopted two-week terms a year ago in order to reduce the impact of jury duty on citizens' personal lives, said Presiding Judge Frank Cuthbertson. He noted that jury trials can last longer than two weeks, so court officials can't guarantee that service will be limited to the minimum period. But overall, shorter terms are best for the citizens who are called to duty and are welcomed by Pierce County courts, Cuthbertson said. There reportedly can be a financial downside to shorter jury service. In testimony and research leading up to the Legislature's action, most counties estimated the cost of mailing jury summons to citizens would increase would increase due to sending more notices to citizens, and that other costs of managing jury pools would also go up. House Bill 1610, the legislation changing jury service rules, passed unanimously in the Senate and the House of Representatives.
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