Proposed Rules Archives

• Proposed Changes to GR 18 - Jury Source List (in Word Format)
• Comments Received for GR 18 - Jury Source List

GR 9 Cover Sheet
Proposal to Amend GR 18 Appendix Concerning Jury Source List

Submitted by the Administrative Office of the Courts

Background: Currently, each county is required to annually declare if they want a jury source list merged by the Department of Enterprise Services (DES), or separate files of registered voters and holders of driver’s licenses and identicards for their county. The DES creates the merged list from data gathered from the Department of Licensing (DOL) and the Office of the Secretary of State (SOS). Courts then receive a disc containing the requested file(s). Counties are also required to further investigate suspected duplicates.

Counties have been reporting a large number of jury summonses returned as undeliverable. The majority are in counties with a high population using mailing addresses separate from their residential addresses (i.e., post office boxes). Research into the issue revealed that the mailing address held by the DOL is being dropped during the process which creates the jury source list. Because the majority of the names in the jury source list come from the DOL, as opposed to the Secretary of State’s voter registration file, most summonses addressed to persons who do not use their residential address to receive mail were undeliverable by the postal service.

Discussions with the counties’ jury administrators also revealed that the suspected duplicates list, a file created during the merge process, is not being used. Each county has a local vendor or IT department which performs duplicate processing on the jury source list file itself, rather than a secondary file of suspected duplicates Discussions with the agencies which provide the source data for the merged list, the DOL and the Office of the Secretary of State, have led to an updated person matching process which will allow for better elimination of duplicates when the file is created.

During the conversations with the counties and the participating state agencies, it was also requested that the method of delivering the files be more efficient and less costly. At times, the courts need to request both a merged and separate files, duplicate copies of the files, or need a refresh of the file midway through the jury year. By changing the delivery method, these needs can all be addressed.

Purpose: The primary purpose for the suggested amendments to GR 18 is to ensure that courts receive the most accurate jury information in an expedient manner. The jury source list is created and distributed from the Department of Enterprise Services by using specific data from the Department of Licensing (DOL) and Secretary of State’s Office (SOS).

Key Recommendations:

1. The data point of “mailing address” is added to GR18(b) and will be included in the list which is sent to the courts. This is expected to significantly decrease the portion of summonses that is returned as undeliverable.
2. The Department of Enterprise Services will be required to make information available on a secure server, allowing each county to access and transfer whichever list they prefer according to the rule. This eliminates the requirement that the court provide notice of which list they will use annually and eliminates the production and maintenance of individual discs. Access to the data will be controlled by security measures including a user ID and password, limiting each county to accessing their own data.
3. Elimination the requirement to compile a “suspected duplicate” list. Counties are rarely, if at all, able to spend time investigating potential duplicates and therefore, the section was removed to reflect current practice. In addition, the new automated matching process should reduce the number of duplicates when the list is produced. Therefore, the requirement to compile the list is removed.

Hearing: A public hearing is not required.

Expedited Consideration: Expedited consideration is requested in order to make these rules effective by January 1, 2016.

Further questions regarding this proposal may be directed to

Jennifer Creighton
Associate Director | ISD
Administrative Office of the Courts
360.705.5310
jennifer.creighton@courts.wa.gov