Ditching duty: Court chasing no-show jurors
Livingston County citizens who tried to duck jury duty now face a court hearing, fines and possible jail time in a crackdown spurred by an alarming increase in the number of no-shows.
Local statistics indicate that an estimated one-third — or an estimated 33 percent — of the prospective jury pool have failed to show in recent months.
“That’s high,” Chief Judge David Reader said bluntly.
Court Administrator Coordinator Peggy Toms added: “We were getting a very poor turnout of jurors. For the most part, we had to pad the request. If the judge wanted 40 (jurors), we’d call in 65 in the hopes to get 40.
“I don’t know what was happening,” Toms noted, “but clearly there was a breakdown or people weren’t taking it seriously.”
In March, the court sent a “show cause” notice to 18 citizens who failed to show for jury duty at least twice in the last three months. Of that number, nine pleaded guilty while eight requested a formal hearing, which are set for May 4-5 before Reader.
Only one of the 18 citizens failed to show as ordered. A county sheriff’s deputy will personally serve that person a second summons, which is an order to come to court and explain why he or she again failed to appear. If the person fails to appear again, he or she can face punishment for contempt of court, which includes possible jail time.
Of the eight who requested a formal hearing, one missed jury duty six times while a second missed three times. The misses occurred between April 2014 and January, court staff said.
Paula Hannaford-Agor, director of the Center for Jury Studies at the National Center for State Courts, said jury duty is a matter “of fairness” for the community and the legal system.
“When people don’t show up, it puts an unfair burden on others,” she said. “Unfortunately, there is a fairly strong correlation between nonresponse and a lower income, which also correlates with minorities.
“As a result, a jury is a lot less diverse. … That’s a violation of litigants’ constitutional rights to a fair and impartial jury,” Hannaford-Agor added.
Excuses, excuses
Hannaford-Agor said courts nationwide are finding two common reasons people fail to show for jury duty: They forget or they do not receive the summons.
Those were reasons echoed by the nine no-show prospective jurors summoned into Livingston County Circuit Court in March. Those nine people pleaded guilty and were fined $50 and ordered to sign up for a future jury panel.
Court officials said they allowed them to choose a panel to “help reduce the likelihood of not showing” again.
Toms speculated another reason citizens fail to show for jury duty might include compensation during jury duty. In Livingston County, prospective jurors may be called to serve on a jury during a two-week period — or a three-week period that is called twice each year; however, that does not mean the potential juror is in court each day for two weeks. He or she may be called to serve only a portion of that time during the two-week period — or may not be called upon to serve at all.
“They get the summons and think they won’t be at work for two weeks, and that’s not the case,” Toms explained.
Jury duty process
In Livingston County, the court uses a two-step jury-management system, but the judicial bench is considering a one-step process.
The two-step system requires the local jury board to qualify each prospective juror through a questionnaire and then summon those who are qualified to report for jury duty during the current jury term, which runs Oct. 1 to Sept. 30.
The one-step process combines those two steps — a move Reader said could save the county money because it takes “a lot of time” for staff to prepare the questionnaires and do the mailings.
In Livingston County, the jury board sends questionnaires to 10,500 prospective jurors annually. Of that number, Toms said an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 are culled because they do not qualify for jury service.
To qualify, a prospective juror must live within the county and be at least 18 years old. Full-time students, citizens ages 70 or older and felons are exempt from jury duty.
The prospective jurors are randomly selected from the state’s Driver’s License and Personal Identification Cardholder lists for anyone living in Livingston County.
The prospective jurors still in the pool are then sent a summons that notifies recipients they are to report for jury duty.
The summons is an official court order and cannot be ignored.
All it requires, Toms noted, is for the recipients to call the court and learn if they are being called to jury duty.
“We bend over backwards to try to accommodate people,” she said. “We understand it’s very disruptive, but then again, it’s the only thing we ask of you. … The biggest inconvenience is following the instructions on when to call back in the two-week (jury panel) time. You may never have to come in at all.”
For those called into jury service, compensation can be an issue, especially for employees whose employers do not cover jury duty.
Toms said an employer is prohibited by law from firing an employee summoned to jury duty, but there is no provision they are financially compensated.
In Livingston County, prospective jurors called in but not selected for jury service receive $12.50 per half day and $25 per full day each time they are called in. Jurors seated on a trial receive $20 per half a day and $40 per full day plus $10 per full day for mileage.
In Michigan, 2,526 cases concluded in jury verdicts in 2015, which meant more than 9,500 jurors served the courts that year, according to statistics from the State Court Administrative Office.
Trial courts statewide spent almost $6.5 million on juror per diems and mileage in that time frame, statistics show.
Possible solutions
Hannaford-Agor said studies show that one of the best practices for jury summons enforcement is for courts to follow up on the no-show people.
She said in Queens, New York, they found 60 percent of their jury summonses were returned as undeliverable, but a second summons was successful.
Hannahford-Agor said in Eau Clair, Wisconsin, the court system found that less than 1 percent failed to respond to a summons once the court system began sending out sheriff’s deputies who were instructed to arrest anyone who did not complete the required jury questionnaire.
“The single biggest predicator was the expectation of what would happen if they didn’t show,” Hannaford-Agor said. “If they thought nothing would happen, they were less likely to appear.”
Contact Livingston Daily justice reporter Lisa Roose-Church at 517-552-2846 or lrchurch@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @LisaRooseChurch.
Additional reading:
Livingston County's jury information can be found here
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