Tom Hatcher, Blount County Circuit Court Clerk initiates Juror texting for the Jurors of Blount County, TN. When a juror receives their summons by traditional mail, they can subscribe to text messages regarding their jury duty by texting the number
43506 with the message
BLOUNTJURY (all caps and no spaces). Jurors who have opted into the texts will then receive text message notifications. The traditional call in service will still be available for those not wishing to receive text messages.
The text message represents a helpful addition because they are such a rapid and time efficient way to reach people. Therefore, many people can be reached instantly even when they are on the go via text message. Jurors can carry on with their busy lives, and the Judiciary can still reach them when they need to.
The introduction of these texts is intended not only to improve the experience of the jurors, but to increase the proportion of people who fulfill their civic duty of serving on a jury. While the popularity of this service is expected to concentrate in younger generations, it is certainly a promising way to make our lives a little easier, and perhaps even improve rates of compliance with jury duty summons. The texting service has a bright future ahead of it.