Jenna Brewer, Macomb Circuit Court’s new jury supervisor, can be commended for taking a kinder, gentler approach to cajoling residents to serve.
She took over in April only nine days before her offices lost computer and telephone service for a week due to the fire at the old County Building in Mount Clemens. But she wasn’t deterred. She removed office walls in her large fifth-floor jury room to provide a more open, welcoming atmosphere for the hundreds of potential jurors who report each week.
Under the guise of Clerk Carmella Sabaugh, she helped revise the jury service portion of the web site, including providing an updated video about jury duty, to assist the public in navigating the sometimes intimidating or frustrating nature of jury duty.
“A small thing can make a big difference,” she said. “We deal with 20,000 people every year. We want to make their experience with the county something that’s a positive memory.”
Other improvements are coming, such as moving one of two check-in kiosks to the first floor and allowing prospective jurors to report at downtown Mount Clemens restaurants.
Brewer seems to grasp that serving the citizens is job No. 1.