New law protects jurors, improves jury system

An Act protecting the safety and privacy of jurors and streamlining the jury system takes effect today.

Justice Minister Judith Collins says the Juries (Jury Service and Protection of Particulars of Jury List Information) Amendment Act brings much needed changes to the jury system.

“Jury service is an important civic duty and those who are summoned deserve to feel safe,” Ms Collins says.

“The new Act puts jurors’ safety and privacy first by tightening access to jurors’ information and introducing provisions to make the jury process more efficient.”

The Government moved to restrict access to jurors’ personal details after convicted murderer George Baker wrote to a juror whose name he saw on a list while representing himself in a trial.

Jurors’ address information will be removed from the jury panel list and can only be viewed by eligible people – for example Police prosecutors, lawyers for the Crown, or lawyers appointed by the court to inspect the information on behalf of defendants who are representing themselves.

The Act also streamlines the jury system. Instead of requesting to be excused from jury duty each time they are summoned, people may now apply to be permanently excused from service due to disability or for health reasons. People aged over 65 who so request must also be permanently excused.

“Every year on average 22,000 people over 65 are excused from jury service,” Ms Collins says.

“The new Act helps address the stress and inconvenience the current process causes many people and allows for a more efficient, less troublesome process both for people seeking to be excused and for court staff.”