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Jury Duty Excuses Could Bring Charges

BARNSTABLE, Mass. (AP) -- A Cape Cod man who claimed he was homophobic, racist and a habitual liar to avoid jury duty earned an angry rebuke from a judge on Monday, who referred the case to prosecutors for possible charges.

''In 32 years of service in courtrooms, as a prosecutor, as a defense attorney and now as a judge, I have quite frankly never confronted such a brazen situation of an individual attempting to avoid juror service,'' Barnstable Superior Court Judge Gary Nickerson told Daniel Ellis, according to a preliminary court transcript of the exchange.

Ellis, of Falmouth, had been called to court with about 60 other potential jurors for possible service on a 23-member grand jury.

Details here from the AP via the New York Times.

Posted by John on July 10, 2007 8:02 AM |

Comments

A lying, racist, homophobe. Sounds like some of our elected officials.

Posted by: Angie Hartford | July 10, 2007 3:39 PM

I personally believe, that we should be FREE to make our own decision as to wether or not we would like to be on a jury! This is America right?? Why is this judge even thinking about wasting our tax dollars on charging someone for not wanting to be on a jury? This judge should not be allowed to serve as such! I've seen the waste that goes on in the courtroom and the time it takes for them to push a case through. I say drop it, and go after a real criminal!!

Posted by: Anonymous | July 11, 2007 12:04 AM

The choice to serve on Jury Duty is not ours. It is a duty that one has because he lives in a free nation. Freedom comes with rights but also with responsibilities. Jury duty is a responsibility, serving in a war if drafted are two of these responsibilities.
Freedom, is not free.

Posted by: That Lawyer Dude | July 13, 2007 4:30 AM

So what if one really is racist and homophobic and a habitual liar? Shouldn't one disclose that as relevant to jury duty?

If one does not feel qualified to be a juror, that should be a sufficient reason to be excused. Perhaps one should lose the right to vote if one is not capable of being a juror.

Posted by: daedalus2u | July 18, 2007 8:21 AM