Is It Time To Change The Way Jury Duty Is Done In Boise?

This week, thousands of people across Ada County received a notice in the mail that they needed to report for jury duty. You should be honored, right? You get to fulfill a civic duty and participate in the judicial process!

Shoot - you even get a couple of dollars and time away from work if you're picked.

The start of the process isn't easy

If you've never received a letter to report for jury duty in Ada County, it's quite the experience. You get a letter in the mail with your assigned jury number and a timeline of days when you're supposed to "report in" by phone.

In our particular case this week, we were required to call in every single day after 5 PM to see if we had to go in the next day.

Now, we get it - life happens, and jury duty "iS pArT oF bEiNg An AdULt."

But, you know what else is part of being an adult? Planning ahead! The people of Ada County have lives, families, and of course, jobs.

By having to call after 5 PM the day before, it's nearly impossible to make plans for the next day. And let us be clear, it's not having to call that makes the reporting process a headache, it's not knowing until the day before.

If you're lucky enough to have a career or family that is flexible enough for you to make last-minute changes to your schedule, kudos to you. For the rest of us who like to plan for our obligations ahead of time, it can create a plethora of issues.

So, what do you think? What should change about the jury reporting system to make it less stressful for people with limited flexibility? Do you think it's fine the way it is?

Let us know your thoughts here and we'll share your responses in a follow-up!