ALLEN COUNTY, OH (WLIO) - Allen County Common Pleas Court judges continue to crack down on people who failed to show up for jury duty without notifying them beforehand.
Judge Terri Kohlrieser held hearings for a couple of people that she issued bench warrants for on Friday after they didn't appear for their contempt of court hearings for not showing up for jury service. The judges are trying to curb a problem they have been seeing of people failing to appear for jury duty without showing just cause after they have been summoned. So, they are charging those who violated, and now they must face the judge themselves.
"Well when they are ordered to come in, they have to explain to me why they did not show up for jury service," says Judge Kohlrieser. "Depending upon what their reasoning is, determines what potentially could happen to them. But anybody not showing up for jury service, even not if they purposefully didn't but forgot or something like that, can be fined up to $250, can be placed in jail up for 30 days for a first offense. Those increase if you do it again."
Judge Kohlrieser says there are steps on the summons people need to follow to be excused for jury duty. Just this week, she charged over 20 people with contempt of court for failure to appear for a trial that was set to start Monday.
