By Maggie Tait of NZPA

Wellington, July 16 NZPA - Over 200 people asked to do jury duty last year had a good excuse for not attending court -- they were dead.

Justice Ministry figures for 2009 show that of the about 198,000 people excused from jury service last year 203 were dead.

The ministry said it was sorry if the summons upset anyone.

"On rare occasions a jury summons may inadvertently be sent to a deceased person," a spokesperson said.

The ministry received monthly lists of eligible people from the Electoral Enrolment Centre which were used by the Courts Department to compile the required jury panels for pending trials.

Courts previously only got a list yearly but in 2001 this was increased to monthly, to reduce the likelihood of summoning people who have died.

"Unfortunately this change does not prevent names of all those who have died within the previous month from appearing on the panels.

"The ministry greatly regrets any distress caused by an incorrect summons and apologises in writing to the families concerned."

The data showed that in 2009 120,985 people were excused from jury service at District Court, 32,273 from High Court and a further 44,403 where it was not clear which jurisdiction the people were excused from.

Other excusals were granted on grounds included health grounds, disabilities, employment issues. A lucky 7676 were excused for holidays.