No-Show Wayne County Jurors Get One More Chance

Potential jurors who have twice ignored jury duty summons have been ordered to appear before Chief Circuit Court Judge Robert Colombo and explain why. (Photo via Shutterstock)

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About 36,000 of the more than 78,600 potential jurors called in Wayne County over the past 11 months have ignored summons.

Wayne County officials are reminding recalcitrant potential jurors they’ve got one more chance to show up before they’re in court for another reason

Nearly half – 46 percent – of the 78,639 people summoned for jury duty during an 11-month period ending Sept. 12 have ignored the notices, the Detroit Free Press reports, and now Wayne County Circuit Court Chief Judge Robert Colombo has ordered 235 of them to appear before him next month to explain why.

The letters went to potential jurors who twice ignored jury duty summons. If they don’t offer acceptable reasons for not showing up, they could face jail time.

“We’re going to gt these people to commit to jury duty,” Colombo said, explaining that “one of the best protections for a democratic system is the jury system.”