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That seems really poorly thought out.
If you make it easier to serve on a jury, then people won't be trying like hell to get out of jury duty.
I've been called to serve on a jury three times over the years here in Arlignton.
The first time, I had to show up for three days and hang around in the morning until I knew if I was going to be put on a case. First two days I found out after an hour that I wasn't needed, and I went to work. I was put on a case the third day and the trial lasted a few hours. Since I had then served on an actual jury, I was then excused for the remaineder of that Jury session. (Two weeks, I think.)
the second time, it was for federal district court, and since I had actually served on a jury within the last 3 years, I was excused and just mailed back a form.
The third time, it was for county court again, and I had to show up the first morning at the courthouse for a couple hours and then went to work, but after that, they had a phone number for me to call the night before to find out if they needed me the next day. I called that number for two weeks, and they never needed me, so I never went in again.
The clerk of the court has a lot of leeway in how they set the system up, and it sounds like NJ has a very messed up and inconvenient system that encourages people to lie, cheat, or steal their way out of serving.
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