Jefferson: Judge irked by no-show jurors plays hardball, issues summonses

Published 12:01 am Wednesday, July 23, 2003

PORT TOWNSEND — Jefferson County Superior Court jurors who think they can skip out on jury duty may think again when a sheriff’s deputy shows up at their doors.

For the first time in his term as Superior Court judge, Thomas J. Majhan is playing hardball with no-show jurors.

On Tuesday, Court Clerk Marianne Walters’ office sent a dozen summonses to the sheriff to be delivered by deputies to jurors who failed to show for a trial the day before.

The 12 people receiving the summonses are being hit with a civil charge of contempt of court, a gross misdemeanor carrying a maximum penalty of one year in jail and/or a $1,000 fine.

The 12 no-show jurors are being ordered to Superior Court for a hearing Aug. 1.

If the people continue to disobey the court, Majhan will issue a warrant for their arrest and charge them as a criminal, Walters said.

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The rest of the story appears in the Wednesday Peninsula Daily News Jefferson County edition.