Senior citizens over a certain age in Westmoreland County will no longer be required to serve on jury duty under a policy that starts today and will be implemented for juries in January.

Jury Commissioner Christina O'Brien said Tuesday that for the first time, residents age 72 and older can opt out of jury duty. A new batch of potential jurors will be selected today, and summonses for the January trial term will be mailed out in about week.

"What's happening is that it is becoming a hardship," O'Brien said. "They want to do the duty, but some can't stay the whole day. It's a physical hardship sometimes."

In the past, seniors needed a written excuse to be granted an exemption from jury duty. The new policy will enable those who meet the age requirement to simply check a box on their official summons asking for the exemption.

The exemption is voluntary, meaning that those 72 and older can still serve on jury duty if they feel they are able, O'Brien said.

Westmoreland County summoned 1,890 potential jurors for the two-week November trial term. Statistics from the jury commissioners' office show that 67 of those potential jurors were 72 or older. Only 21 were exempted from service.

"It will make it easier," O'Brien said.

The impetus for the change was pending legislation in Harrisburg that would exempt the elderly from jury duty. One bill would set the exempt age at 75, while another would set it at 70.

O'Brien said Westmoreland County will adjust its exemption age to mirror any new law that is passed.

Allegheny County has a voluntarily exemption for potential jurors age 75 or older.

All potential jurors will notice another change this month. The county will no longer mail out separate questionnaires to qualify potential jurors for service.

Instead of sending out 55,000 questionnaires once a year to all potential jurors, the county will mail a combined summons and questionnaire to 3,000 juror candidates every month.

O'Brien said the change could save the county as much as $40,000 a year in postage expenses.

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)