Thousands fail to front for jury duty

Wanganui District Court

Thousands of Wanganui residents are shirking jury duty every year, figures reveal.

The Justice Ministry says measures introduced to curb people dodging their civic responsibility are paying off.

Close to 4500 people didn't show up for jury duty in Wanganui last year and more than 7500 in 2011.

More than 2500 have already avoided service this year.

About a quarter of those dodging service had no legitimate excuse.

Most Wanganui residents said they couldn't serve because of work obligations and hundreds more opted out because they were older than 65.

Personal circumstances and family commitments accounted for a large chunk of the excuses and more than 100 said they couldn't be on a jury because of their religious beliefs.

Marton lawyer Mark Richardson said the high number of professionals not turning up in Wanganui was a problem.

"It don't think it's very healthy for our justice system to have a jury consisting of superannuitants and unemployed."

However, a recent change extending the catchment area from 30km to 45km - designed to increase the potential pool - only captured people who couldn't afford to attend.

No compensation for travel added to the financial burden for people living in rural areas.

"It's just the nature of how expensive it is to take time off work or travel there and back."

From October 2010 until June this year, 478,470 New Zealanders shirked jury duty nationwide.

Of these, 101,916 had no legitimate reason while 100,643 deferred the service to a more convenient time. Business or job obligations was the most popular excuse, followed by being aged 65 or over.

Family commitments was another common reason for skipping jury service, as was health, physical disability, personal circumstances, and having served already in the past two years.

However, the numbers appear to be dropping, with 145,605 dodging service last year compared with 199,662 in 2011.

District courts general manager Tony Fisher said the ministry had introduced two key changes to the jury system to improve attendance since 2010.

Jury district boundaries were extended from 30km around each courthouse to 45km. And jurors could now postpone service to a more convenient time, rather than being excused outright.

Jurors can also be excused if they have a criminal history, intellectual disability or "ineligible occupation".

Judges can impose a $1000 fine on people who refuse to front for jury service, but the penalty has only been imposed once in 2007.

Business New Zealand chief executive Phil O'Reilly said though jury service might cause minor issues for some employers, the system was flexible enough for most businesses to work around.