The Office of the High Sheriff has completed its review of the jury administration system and is in the process of implementing one of the most effective and thorough jury lists in the country, the Honourable Tom Osborne, Minister of Justice, announced today.

"I am exceptionally pleased with the wide array of changes made to the system and the work of the officials in the department to ensure the work was complete," said the minister. "We have completed a full, dry run of the system and we are ready to begin using the updated system to choose juries this summer for trials scheduled for the fall."

The Department of Justice conducted a full review of the processes of jury administration and has implemented several changes including the hiring of a dedicated employee to ensure the day-to-day operational management of the jury selection database is performed. The Sherriff�s Office also created a 1-800 number to provide potential jurors further information and updates.

The jury list has been updated to consist of data from MCP records, Vital Statistics, the Motor Vehicle Registration database and information from the Chief Electoral Office.

"All of these changes will ensure the system is checked and updated daily and again, weekly with automatic updates from MCP, to ensure accuracy," said Minister Osborne. "We are confident our new system will choose juries that will fairly administer justice in our province."

The new system is effective immediately and will be used for upcoming trials.

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Media contact:
Deborah Pennell
Director of Communications
Department of Justice
709-729-6985, 685-6612
deborahpennell@gov.nl.ca

2007 07 25                                            10:10 a.m.