CALL-IN JURY SUMMONS SYSTEM LAUNCHED; TOLL-FREE NUMBER TO EASE SELECTION, ASK QUESTIONS, CUT BACK ON WASTED TIME.

Byline: Janet Gilmore Daily News Staff Writer

Jury administrators are launching a pilot program that they hope will produce a larger crop of jurors who spend less time sitting around reading old magazines and more time in court.

The key to it all is a toll-free phone system.

Beginning next week, 100,000 prospective jurors, or 10 percent of the county's jury pool, will receive summonses directing them to call a toll-free number and answer electronic questions regarding their availability for jury duty or their interest in delaying jury duty.

The pilot program is the first of its kind in the country, said Gloria Gomez, juror services manager for Los Angeles Superior Court.

The immediate response of a phone system, compared to the delay involved with the current mail-in application system, is expected to help administrators better gauge how many jurors will actually show up for court.

If more jurors are available than needed, some jurors will have their day postponed. When more are needed, officials can call more in, Gomez said.

``The most important benefit will be the convenience to the jurors,'' Gomez said. ``No one wants to come in to serve and find that their time is being wasted.''

Gomez also hopes the new program will bring in a larger number of jurors.

The new summonses feature large type warning that failure to respond could result in a $1,500 fine.

The new summonses also streamline the application process: The jury questionnaire and jury duty summons are part of the same paperwork.

Under the current program, prospective jurors fill out a questionnaire and, weeks later, received a summons in the mail.

The pilot program begins Monday and continues over a three- to four-month period.

Prospective jurors will be directed to call the toll-free number to answer questions regarding their ability to serve. They will also be instructed to mail in a jury questionnaire, which asks the same questions contained on the voice-mail system.

Gomez will use the written documents to check the accuracy of the phone system, and the phone system will help gauge the efficiency of the mail-in system. Gomez suspects that some jury questionnaires are lost in the mail or during processing at the courthouse.

If successful, county administrators could decide as early as January to convert to a phone-only system or use the phone system along with the mail-in questionnaire.