Your seat is ready -- in the jury box

MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. -- Like diners waiting for a seat in a popular restaurant, jurors in one busy Michigan court soon could be free to stroll and shop until a pager summons them for duty.

Macomb County Clerk Carmella Sabaugh said the pagers would relieve the 23,000 potential jurors called each year to the courthouse in downtown Mount Clemens of the dull hours waiting to be picked for a trial.

"It's something we've been wanting to do for a long time. But it never really did take form until now," she said.

One business leader said the pagers could be a boon for store and restaurant owners in the area about 20 miles northeast of Detroit.

"We love it," said Arthur Mullen, executive director of the Mount Clemens Downtown Development Authority. "They will get to know our beautiful downtown, our shops and restaurants. They'll get a flavor of it and be interested in coming back."

Sabaugh has made other changes aimed at making jury duty easier, led by a one-day, one-trial system that shortens service for many jurors.

A partnership with the SMART suburban bus system provides a free ride to the courthouse. The jury room has free wireless Internet service, and the Mount Clemens Public Library offers free books and other reading materials.

If judges and the Board of Commissioners approve the pagers, Sabaugh said she could have the program in place by spring.