Cabell County judicial officials are looking for ways to increase the number of people who respond to summonses for jury duty.

Circuit Clerk Adell Chandler tells The Herald-Dispatch that her office has to summon more than twice the number of people it did nearly 20 years ago to get the same number of qualified jurors.

Options being considered include follow-up letters and telephone calls, and issuing fines to people who don't respond.

Chief Circuit Judge Paul T. Farrell would rather avoid those options. He says serving on a jury is a patriotic duty because the system would otherwise fail.