There is a program in the Rochester area to help provide transportation for prospective jurors and those serving on juries at the Monroe County Hall of Justice.
The program was announced by William Taylor, the Administrative Judge for the Seventh Judicial District.
This program will provide free, round-trip RTS bus passes to those prospective jurors summoned to the courthouse downtown. And upon request, a pass will be mailed to the juror directly and they will receive bus passes for the remainder of their service.
The program is being done in partnership with the Monroe County Bar Association. Its President, Sareer Fazili, also credited a past president of the association, Mike Wolford, for helping get this program off the ground.
“Not everybody has reliable transportation and parking is, and continues to be an issue,” Fazili said. “So with this project that Mike worked exceptionally hard on, we think that we have been able to at least help alleviate some of that inconvenience.
Fazili said that one goal for this program is to get a more inclusive population serving on juries while having the parking and the transportation issue not be an impediment.
Judge Taylor, in a statement, said that, “jurors nobly doing their civic duty are essential to the work of our courts,” and he said the court is pleased to support the effort to make jury service more accessible.
The Monroe County Bar Association got financing for what they said is a pilot program, through a grant from the Foundation of the American Board of Trial Advocates.
Fazili said it’s expected the program will have enough funding to continue for several months, and he is hopeful that if it proves to be popular, the association can get additional funding to keep the program going.
