A record number of people have been summoned for jury duty in preparation for a trial later this year.

About 1,300 summons have been sent out to possible jury members – the most ever in the territory, Justice department spokesperson Chris Ross said today.

"We want to make sure that there is a large enough jury pool where people don't have any involvement or connection with anyone involved.”

Ross said his department cannot release who the case involves.

The trial, which is scheduled to begin in April, has been designated a mega trial.

Therefore, 16 people will be chosen for the jury as opposed to the standard 12, Ross said.

This leaves alternates in case other jury members are not able to complete the lengthy trial.

So far, 195 people have confirmed they will be coming for jury selection April 2, and 418 have already been excluded.

That leaves 687 people who have not responded yet.

"It may be that they're on spring break or something like that and just haven't checked their mail,” Ross said.

The fine for not responding to a jury summons is between $25 and $200. The decision to lay those fines is at the discretion of the judge.

Jury members in the Yukon are paid $80 a day.

A mega trial was also held last year in Whitehorse.

At that time, 436 people were summoned but sheriff officers were forced to go to the streets to find the last few jury members.