PHOENIX — A group of Valley residents learned a hard lesson Friday: Don't ignore a jury summons unless you have a good excuse.
Those who couldn't come up with a valid reason for skipping jury service were vulnerable to getting sanctioned by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Joseph Kreamer.
One by one, the jury duty scofflaws stood before Kreamer and pleaded their case for why they shouldn't be fined up to $500. Kreamer showed mercy to single parents and school employees, but was willing to issue $100 or $200 penalties to those he felt could have put more effort in responding to their civic duty.
Friday's proceedings were part of a set of hearings the court schedules to educate citizens on the importance of jury service and demonstrate the consequences for ignoring a summons.
Instead of helping to determine the outcome of the county's most complex cases, Kreamer said people mistakenly look for methods to avoid a jury summons.
"That's not how you should be thinking," the judge said. "The jury system is what makes our system of justice different from everybody else's."
Arizona's courts have made changes in recent years to make jury service more appealing by substantially raising the daily juror compensation rate to between $40 and $300.
Kreamer said the court will always take the time to listen to someone's reason for not reporting to jury duty, emphasizing the fact that courtrooms are not as intimidating as they may appear.
"I've been a judge for 16 years, I've never used my gavel once," Kreamer said.
More information on jury service in Maricopa County can be found here.
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