Weighing evidence and contemplating interesting cases should make jury duty an enjoyable experience. But the procedure — waiting in line and getting shuffled from room to room — can be a drag.

Now those who want the experience without the red tape can check out iCourthouse.com, where anybody can be a juror deciding on real disputes submitted by real people.

More than a site for netizens interested in the legal process, iCourthouse.com is also a destination for lawyers seeking to gauge public reaction to civil cases and for people wanting to settle their grievances without paying legal fees or going to court.

"We have people who have problems in their life who want to be heard," says founder Clyde Long, a California attorney who created the site in 1999, explaining the site's popularity.

One motorcycle enthusiast got a Harley-Davidson tattoo on his bicep only to discover that the name had been misspelled. Another man found his e-mail hacked into by a co-worker, who allegedly sent lewd and disparaging remarks about him to his friends and family.

The process works like this: Anyone thinking about pursuing a civil claim — or any attorney representing a client — can file a brief on iCourthouse.com explaining his side of the story. The Web site then contacts the defendant requesting an online response. Ideally, both sides file opening statements, evidence and closing arguments and respond to selected questions from the jury public. "Jurors," made up of some of the site's 30,000 members who choose to sit on the case, cast their vote. The results are tabulated, and iCourthouse.com renders a verdict.

The verdicts on iCourthouse.com, however, are not legally binding. But a large number of cases that pass through the site are settled out of court, often for an amount very close to the damages which the iCourthouse.com jury awarded, Long says. The founder, however, stresses that he only has anecdotal evidence about resolutions since the site does not follow-up on every case.

Even if the parties do not settle after an iCourthouse.com verdict, the process gives their lawyers a good idea of how jurors might respond to their case and what questions they might want answered.

"Lawyers use costly trial consultants and focus groups to try to get a better perspective on a case all the time. The Internet is a perfect medium to do that. I look at it as an interesting way to get information for your clients," adds Long.

The site makes money by selling JurySmart, software that allows lawyers to post their cases, see verdicts and receive a package of information breaking down the demographics of the jury pool.

The goal of iCourthouse.com, according to Long, is not only to use the Internet to resolve everyday conflicts, but also to mediate disputes in cyberspace. A large number of cases involve business transactions over the Internet.

"The Internet needs its own courthouse. There are so many disputes, especially with e-commerce, that are difficult to resolve," says Long.

But iCourthouse.com isn't the only site looking to wield a virtual gavel. Onlineresolution.com is offers the services of professional mediators to solve disputes and specializes in Web-related problems.

"The number one kind of case is an e-commerce case," says company president Colin Rule. "They're very common and there's not much of a possibility of face-to-face redress."

Instead of simulating a civil court action, onlineresolution.com uses mediation to help parties come to an agreement. "The third party mediator helps the parties come up with an agreed-upon solution. Then the mediator often draws up a contract," Rule explains.

The site might not be such an attractive tool for lawyers, but it boasts a success rate of nearly 70 percent.

While Long and Rule acknowledge that virtual court isn't going to replace the jury trial, both say their sites can improve upon alternative forms of conflict resolution such as mediation, arbitration and civil settlements that have been increasingly common offline.