On Tuesday, January 31, District Judge Scott Say issued prospective fines to 33 people who failed to report for jury duty on January 18th as potential Grand Jurors. Potential jurors who failed to claim exemptions by mail, those who did not call ahead of time with legitimate excuses for non-attendance and those who simply ignored their jury summons will be notified by mail in the coming days that they can either voluntarily pay the fine assessed in the District Clerk’s Office or personally appear in District Court to show cause why they should not be fined.
Those wishing to present an excuse for non-attendance, those having lawful exemptions and those claiming a hardship will have the opportunity to do so in the District Courtroom on Wednesday, February 8th at 11 a.m., Thursday, February 16th at 1:30 p.m., or by calling to make a special appointment with the Court. The deadline for absent jurors to present valid excuses or pay the assessed fine will be February 23, 2023 at 5 p.m.
Judge Say told the Leader-News that levying fines has become necessary because the percentage of potential jurors who choose to simply ignore their summons has continued to grow over the last several years.
Judge Say said, “This problem has continued to worsen and has to be addressed. Our judicial system is based on the right to have a fair and impartial jury of one’s peers. This essential right cannot be exercised, if people neglect their civic duties.”
Judge Say explained that there are several ways for citizens who are summoned for jury service to avoid being fined. One of the most important things people can do is keep their addresses updated on their driver’s license and voter registration, since that’s where the jury lists are pulled from. Second, potential jurors who are not qualified under the law or want to claim exemptions can easily do so by simply circling the applicable reason on the back of their jury summons, signing and dating it and returning it to the District Clerk.” Judge Say added, “Additionally, people with hardships such as medical appointments, pre-paid vacations and work related emergencies can call the jury line and leave a message. Those calls will be returned and the Court will decide whether to defer that juror’s service to another date or require attendance.”
Judge Say has asked that the names of the absent jurors be published, not for embarrassment, but because the most common reason for non-attendance is failure to keep address changes updated with DPS and the Voter Registrar. Say said, “Absent jurors who did not receive notice because of address changes will be give additional time to correct their information and will only be fined if they fail to make the necessary changes. The same will be true of those who failed to claim legitimate exemptions or call ahead because of a hardship. However, those who simply decided not to show up will be fined accordingly.” The following is a list of citizens who did not respond to their summons: Juan Alfaro, Alejandr Montejano-Manriquez, Aleida Barajas, Leonard Trevino, Corina Garcia, Sherri Smith, Billy Grant, Barbara Martin, Beverly Stinson, Louise Aliar, Meghan Rejino, Deetta Sanders, Daniel Gomez, James Haltom, Issac Garcia, Steven Brown, Angel Gallegos, Jessica Morgan, Concha Mayes, Katherina Mosqueda, Debra Harmon, Christopher Soliz, Daniel Hernandez, Lisa Allen, Cesilia Tovar, Maria Garza, Ashley Jones, Emanelo Buena-Garcia, Juan Perez, Russell Hughes, Lillian Scheffel, Jose Tarango and Eugene Trevino.
Judge Say elaborated, “The Court understands that things happen in our everyday lives that make jury service inconvenient or impossible at times for various reasons. However, jury service is not only a constitutional right of citizens accused of committing crimes and people being sued, it is a fundamental civic duty that is sadly often ignored for selfish reasons. Until juror participation improves to a reasonable level, those choosing to ignore the Court’s summons will be brought into court and fined.”