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Poll gives courthouse high marks
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More from County NewsJurors say that finding the Ventura County courthouse is easy and, once there, searching for a courtroom isn't a problem.
Those are among the findings of a three-day poll of prospective jurors taken in March by court administrators.
The Ventura County Superior Court conducted the Access and Fairness survey at the Hall of Justice, with the majority of people giving the courthouse high overall average scores in 10 categories including security and courtesy.
Robert Sherman, assistant executive officer with the Superior Court, said the survey was done to gauge how people who report for jury duty feel about the building and the people who work there.
The lowest score was for the court's Web site, which got 100 responses and a 75 percent average approval rating.
"That's one area that we are going to take a look at," said Sherman, adding that this is the first survey of this kind.
He said he hopes to do another jury survey in a year or 18 months.
Jurors are selected at random using voter registration and Department of Motor Vehicle lists, according to courthouse officials.
The ratings in the survey ranged from strongly disagree to strongly agree, said Sherman.
A 100 percent overall rating indicates that jurors strongly agree. There were 131 respondents but some didn't answer all the questions, according to Sherman.
The second lowest score was the time it took to get court business done; out of 114 responses, there was a 78 percent approval rating, according to the survey.
"We do welcome input," said Sherman.
Ratings of 80 percent or better were found in areas of courtesy and respect, court hours of operation, finding the location of offices and courtrooms, the ease of using and understanding forms, courthouse security, finding the courthouse, and whether the courthouse staff pays close attention to a person's needs, according to the survey.
Sherman said jurors seemed very satisfied overall with the way the courthouse operates and with the people who work there.
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