People who are summoned for jury service in Santa Cruz County will see a new jury summons in the mail starting early September.
The new summons, which will arrive in the mail as a postcard, is much easier to read and creates less waste.
Many California courts have moved to a postcard style summons to reduce waste and make responding to the summons easier. Orange County switched in 2014, San Francisco in 2021, San Diego County this year.
For the next couple of weeks, some Santa Cruz County jurors must still respond to the traditional summons and people should pay careful attention to the information the Court has posted to its website about responding to that summons. By mid-October, however, all jurors will be getting to the new postcard.
“We know there will be a period of adjustment over the next several weeks, but we are striving to make serving as a juror in this county as easy and convenient as possible,” said Court Executive Officer Sasha Morgan.
Last year, the Santa Cruz County Superior Court sent 73,000 summonses to residents across Santa Cruz County and each summons included two envelopes (one to mail back to the court) along with an 8”x14” sized summons — and about 4,000 were undeliverable because of bad addresses.
While the Court makes every effort to reduce undeliverable mail, the process has its share of waste and that’s one reason why Santa Cruz is joining other courts across the state to use a postcard summons.
The Santa Cruz County Superior Court is also adopting a new jury management system that includes both an online and phone system where potential jurors can confirm their service and make certain requests using an automated attendant.
Rather than mailing back a summons to request a postponement or to indicate that someone is not qualified to serve, people can simply notify the court using a computer, mobile device, or by phone — and for people who do not have access to any of these options, the Court can still mail you a paper summons if you request it.
The Court offers phone and office hours Monday through Friday from the County building at 701 Ocean St., Santa Cruz Still, those who use the internet or phone options may find the process more convenient with timely responses from the Court via email and text messages.
Serving as a juror is an incredibly important part of promoting bedrock democratic principles like access, fairness, and justice for all, according to court officials. People who serve as jurors often report finding the experience extremely interesting and meaningful.
These changes in the new jury system and summons are designed to enhance the experience.
An image of the new postcard style summons is available on the Court’s website at www.santacruzcourt.org.
•••
For questions, call the Superior Court at 831-420-2203 or email [email protected].