Jury Management Products

I just wanted people to know about my experience with Judicial Systems of Tyler, TX and what they have done for my county (Midland).  I came into office 5 years ago and was given the software that had been used for years for the jury summons.  I was new to the District Clerk’s office so I just figured that we have had to deal with the current jury system and that was that.  I talked to clerks at conferences and they were having the same problems of no shows, bad addresses, exemptions and deaths.  My old software company would pull the jury wheel and send it to the State to be reconstituted and then plug it back in.  I had to rely on the State and the software company to make sure everything was taken care of, it was not and never was for 5 years.  When I came into office, I kept getting a jury summons for my parents.  Mom died 01-01-2009, Dad died 01-10-2010.  I called the State and my CMS and told them that “I have the death certificates, that I dressed them and saw them lowered into the ground…I know they are deceased.”  It never changed in 5 years.  When I was set up with Judicial Systems, the first thing I did was to take off mom and dad.  The new jury system took the death notices and took them out right away.  This is not just my problem.  I don’t know how many calls I received from people that were extremely upset because they received a notice for a loved one that had passed away.  If anything, these people don’t need to have that wound reopened because someone can’t click on a tab.

The next big issue I had was attendance and expenses.  I would send out 1,000 summons every week and only have a 17% return every week.  It took about 1 month for my numbers to start increasing.  As of today, I am between 68% and 71%, my cost has been cut by 2/3rds and the response from the public is awesome, very positive and wanting to know why we did not do this sooner.  When I go to my conferences, I tend to speak my mind and I have other clerks from all over Texas ask about this product.  I have no problem bragging on Judicial Systems and how they have made my county (Midland) a better county for jury service.

I would also like to tell you about the service part of this company.  Installation was easy once we got our IT people on board that this software is new and does not require the constant monitoring as did our previous jury software.  Before they came to install the jury package, Heath came out and spent time with my jury ladies, the IT department, clerks from the Justice of the Peace, and Judges that did attend.  They set up a training jury pool so that we could play with the product and learn all the applications that they had to offer.  When we went live they held our hands for many weeks to get us comfortable and answer all, and I do me all, of our questions.  We can and still call and we do quite often and as always they treat us like we are the only county using them.  Gary and his staff stand behind their product and it truly is a product worth every penny you spend.  If you ever need or want to talk to someone who has gone from zero to hero in terms of a jury package, feel free to call me anytime. Ross Bush

District Clerk, Midland County Texas