Posted on 11/29/2015 5:05:11 PM PST by Elderberry
A 76-year-old woman lamented to McLennan County District Clerk Jon Gimble recently that she had been summoned for jury duty five times in her life and had been passed over each time.
"She really wanted to serve," Gimble said. "She was so disappointed. Unfortunately, we don't run across too many people like that these days."
And the trend seems to be getting worse. On average, 70 percent of potential jurors summoned in McLennan County don’t bother to respond to the notices.
The no-show rate is similar in Lubbock and Bell counties but worse in Taylor County, where an average of 25 percent of people called for jury duty actually bother to come to court.
Troubled by the low turnout, Gimble and McLennan County state district judges have met and think it's time for the free ride for those who ignore jury notices to come to an end.
"I think as citizens, people should be prepared to perform their civic duties and serve as citizen jurors," 54th State District Judge Matt Johnson said. "It is one of the best characteristics of our criminal and civil justice system in the United States, and their participation is essential."
Beginning the first of the year, Johnson and 19th State District Judge Ralph Strother plan to issue writs of attachments or show-cause orders for potential jurors who fail to respond to jury notices.
If a writ of attachment is ordered, deputies will escort the no-show to court. In show-cause orders, officials contact the person in some way and tell them to come to court prepared to explain to a judge why they didn't report for jury duty.
The Texas Government Code provides for a fine of from $100 to $1,000 for people who fail to answer a jury summons.
"If you have a valid reason, you might get out of here without a fine," Johnson said. "But it is a real possibility if people who are capable of serving disregard a jury summons. They should expect to be fined."
Strother also said people with legitimate excuses might not have to worry about being fined. People who can't make it a particular day can always contact the court or Gimble's office and be rescheduled for another time, he said.
"We are talking about people who got a summons and just blew it off. That kind of gets our attention and is just not acceptable," Strother said. "I am reluctant to mete out harsh circumstances unless they are flagrant refusals. I have done a few. Most of the time, people forget it and it is usually harmless. But our participation rate is low enough that we need to address the issue and remind people that this is a serious undertaking. Jury duty is not a pleasant duty to have to perform, but it is necessary and very important."
Jury pool change
Judge Jim Meyer of Waco's 170th State District Court said the diminishing numbers reporting for jury duty started about 20 years ago, when the law changed to add licensed drivers to the list summoned for jury duty. Before, jury pools were taken from a roster of registered voters, "who are already wanting to take part in the process," Meyer said.
Meyer said he noted a particularly low turnout last month when a special panel was summoned to hear what would have been the trial of the first West explosion lawsuits. But he attributed that to pretrial publicity that warned potential jurors that the trial could last from six to eight weeks.
The case ended up settling the weekend before trial.
"I am supportive of what the other judges want to do," Meyer said. "This is a statewide problem. Counties throughout the state are having to do this kind of thing because so many people are ignoring jury summons."
Of 200 people called for the first West case, 70 showed up for jury duty, officials said.
With high-profile cases involving the Twin Peaks biker shootout, the next West explosion trial, set now for Feb. 1, and a lawsuit in which Baylor University is suing the Baylor Alumni Association, large jury panels will be needed to seat a jury.
Saving time, money
On the bright side, Gimble said new software and equipment are allowing cost-cutting and time-saving changes in the jury summons process.
A new, smaller jury summons design that no longer has to be folded and tabbed will cut postal costs in half and save two or three hours a month in processing time for two or three employees.
The changes will save the county about $10,000 a year in printing and postage, Gimble said.
Meagan Beltran, jury clerk in Taylor County, said judges in Abilene have not issued show-cause orders in at least 15 years but said they have been discussing it more as turnout declines.
Lubbock County District Clerk Barbara Sucsy said judges in Lubbock issued show-cause orders for recalcitrant jurors about 15 years ago, and levels of those who showed up increased dramatically for the next six months before returning to normal. She said her office got more than 900 phone calls in the following week from people double-checking to make sure they had been given credit for showing up for jury duty.
"It didn't take long for things to go back like they were," Sucsy said. "If they are getting 30 percent in McLennan County, that is a good rate. If they figure out how to increase that, call me back."
It only encourages the theft of resources by the Legal System. Lawyers and Judges don't "serve" for (essentially) free.
We have a good system in Alameda County. Jury Duty is one day only, unless you’re selected for a jury, of course. You go online the night before, and they tell you if they need you to report the next day. If they don’t need you that day, then your jury duty is over. I get a Jury Summons every two years like clockwork, but I haven’t had to report to the Courthouse yet.
I have gone every time.
If this genius judge is going to fibne no-shows, then he better have the jury notices sent by registered mail, SIGNED FOR by the intended recipient. Otherwise, a lot of people are going to get fines for notices they didn’t even know ere sent. Picture this scenario: you move from your residence, perhaps even out of state, the county sends a jury notice to your old address which the new resident throws in the trash, and then you end up months or years later finding out you have a lien on your property or bank account or some such thing. Good luck fighting that.
I can’t add up all the times I’ve served. Municipal, County, Civil,and Justice of the Peace Courts. Out of all those times, There was only one case that I got to serve to the very end.
Back in Bush43, some Wyoming judge got fed up with the no-shows, and dispatched court officers to snag people from the local Walmart parking lot.
Dick Cheney’s brother got press-juried, which is why it made the national news.
Of course, British press-ganging American seamen was one of the causes of the War of 1812, too, iirc.
The only case I ever served on (out of the 6 or so I’ve been called to report for) was for a bail jumper. We weren’t to know the details of his case (although the prosecutor blurted it out to sway the jury) and the judge wouldn’t even tell us if time served would be credited against any punishment we sentenced (this after we’d already found him guilty).
In Texas, jury summons are sent by regular mail, simply say you never received it and the burden is on the court to prove otherwise.
I felt if I didn’t appear when I received that third summons, the next one would be delivered by a Deputy.
First of all, anyone who WANTS to serve on a jury will be refused right up front.
Lubbock County District Clerk Barbara Sucsy
If that is her maiden name I can only imagine the fun the boys had in high school.
As for jury summons, with today’s postal service saying you never received it should be a valid excuse for not showing up.
Finally, I’m leaning toward professional juries. On jury duty you get about $6 a day and in the big cities it’ll be a pain just finding a free parking space. If you have to pay, you lose money. And employers do NOT have to pay you when you take time off to serve on a jury.
I’ve been called only once, twenty years ago, when I was a mother to small children and couldn’t serve. since then, never. maybe because I registered Republican. I’m exempt as a volunteer EMT, but I’d still like to serve.
I have been summoned 6 times, 3 federal and 3 state. 4 murder cases and 2 armed robberies. All 6 times I have been sent packing almost certainly by the defense attorney because I am an old white guy who contributes to conservative causes. The irony is that I would hold the prosecution to the legal standards involved in the case more assiduously than any liberal because I believe in rights.
But the big problem with jurors is simply that they can not afford to miss work for a month or two at a time while getting a 40 buck per day stipend. You can not expect people living paycheck to paycheck to miss 6 to 8 of them.
Back in the 90’s in Harris county (Houston) I was receiving a jury summons every year, when the lawyers were interviewing me in court, I told them this and told them I would refuse to give a verdict or listen to evidence.
The judge said I was incorrigible and sent me home and the jury summons stopped.
The last Jury Panel I was on was a Civil Case. In Voir Dire, I stated that I did not believe in Punitive Damages and if I was selected I would do my best to reduce any punitive damages to zero.
I was not selected. The Judge said he wanted to talk to me, but it was lunch time, so I was let go.
Just start to explain the concept of jury nullification and see how long you are allowed to remain.
My county has one of the most insane jury duty systems in the world.
I have been called for jury duty every eighteen months for the past twelve years.
We serve for SIX MONTHS at a time. But the pool is divided so that each potential juror is ‘only’ on call on alternating weeks. Each group every other week averages one trial per week, but sometimes two. Once I had three trials in one week. It is a ninety mile round trip for most jurors to get to the courthouse. For some it is 120 miles or more.
I’ve wasted several hundred hours of time, a few hundred gallons of gasoline, and about seventeen tons of irritation doing my civic duty.
And the worst thing about it is that only two of the cases on which I have served should have ever come to trial. Every other one was a waste of the Judge’s and the Jury’s time.
Don’t know who came up with such an insane system; I’d rather just have to spend two weeks at the courthouse in one block than to have my whole life put intermittently on hold for so long. You can’t plan a long trip, and it must irritate the heck out of employers who can’t count on employees being allowed to do their jobs.
I’m not answering my next summons. If that makes me a bad citizen, then so be it.
They send the sheriff if you don’t show up here.
I’m serving 6 months now and so is my youngest son, his employer is very conservative so he doesn’t lose any pay and I work in our business and do volunteer work so it is not a problem for me.
They never choose me on a jury I think because my life probably looks conservative by my answers on the form.
My husband was permanently excused because he was a sole-proprietor and couldn’t take the time off because there was no one to replace him.
I don’t consider jury duty the honor that these Judges make it out to be.
Also as a veteran I feel I have done my duty and then some to this country and my state.Veterans have been Royally screwed by this country so I don’t want to hear that its my civic duty to serve on a jury.
If I’m forced to serve I would do it in protest.
Am I on some kind of national “do not summon” list?
Is it my status as a veteran, or my political affiliation?
My daughter was summoned just a few months after getting a drivers license.
My co-workers have all been summoned at least once, most were summoned twice or more in the past ten years.
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