Strange
but true: Court clerks
recall unusual jury tales
By
Jack Zemlicka
jack.zemlicka@wislawjournal.com
Sept.
10, 2007
Milwaukee
County Clerk of Courts John Barrett has described jury duty as a chance for citizens
in the state to take an active role in the judicial process.
The
majority of those summoned to participate do so with little or no resistance,
and proceedings commence without incident. But on occasion there have been unusual
circumstances throughout Wisconsin, which have disrupted trials, altered jury
selection and angered judges.
Several
clerks of court from around the state recalled bizarre and even frightening instances
during their tenures.
Barrett,
who has been clerk in the state’s largest court system since 1998, has encountered
numerous oddities.
Tipsy
Jurors
One
of his favorites occurred a few years ago when two jurors stepped out for lunch
at a local watering hole. Several cocktails later, the jurors returned to court
a little worse for wear.
“They
came back pretty well schnockered and obviously the judge didn’t appreciate
it too much,” said Barrett. “They were close to being found in contempt
and the judge ruled they had to come back and re-do jury service, absent the assistance
of alcohol.”
All
citizens out to lunch in Barron County need to keep their wits about them because
of the possibility they may spontaneously be called for jury duty.
Clerk
of Court Judith W. Espeseth said on a couple of occasions the sheriff has had
to solicit jurors at a neighborhood restaurant because of a shortage.
“Usually,
we think we have enough, but if they don’t show, the court has authority
to allow the sheriff to go out and get jurors,” said Espeseth, who was first
elected clerk in 1987. “The sheriff has gone to a local restaurant and said,
‘Guess what? You’re on jury duty.’ We’ve gotten our jury of
12 with that method a couple of times.”
State
statute requires that citizens summoned on the spot must report for duty, but
there is always an endless supply of excuses.
Puppies
Due
Dane
County Jury Clerk Debra Rochon remembers a juror who asked to be excused because
her dog was going to have puppies the week of the scheduled jury service.
“This
was, of course, not accepted as a valid excuse, but as it turned out, the puppies
arrived a week early and the juror served at the appointed time,” said Rochon.
Reporting
for jury duty in Door County is exemplary, according to Clerk of Court Nancy Robillard.
Often it only takes a phone call to convince a reluctant citizen. However, she
did recount one incident where a party to a case expected too much from a jury.
“Many
years ago, a defendant circulated a form to the jury after the trial, which asked
for pertinent information like social security numbers,” said Robillard.
“We put the kibosh on that. I’m not sure what the intention was, but
it was something we hadn’t ever seen before.”
Staying
Late
In
at least one case, a juror preferred to remain in trial as long as possible. Espeseth
recalled a story often told by Barron County Circuit Court Judge James C. Babler.
“When
we’re doing voir dire, he tells jurors that there is the likelihood that
the trial will go into the evening hours and asks if there is any reason they
cannot stay,” said Espeseth. “One of the jurors gets up and says that
his kid has a Christmas concert, but he would rather stay here.”
Circumstances
are not always as light, especially when medical emergencies arise.
Barrett
noted than on several occasions, jurors have suffered heart attacks in court.
“It
get’s very scary,” said Barrett. “We recently had a young man collapse
and it was a challenge contacting his family and also finding out where he had
parked downtown.”
A
similar situation arose in Waukesha County on Sept. 4 when a juror stopped breathing
during voir dire.
“There
was actually another potential juror who performed CPR on the man and got him
breathing again,” said Waukesha County Clerk of Court Carolyn Evenson. “It
was pretty frightening for everyone.”
