Life in a small, rural town is different and sometimes an adventure. Take for instance, Laura Skelton who thought she was going to the post office to pick up mail, but instead was shanghaied by Mariposa County Court Bailiffs and forced into jury duty under a little used law.
Skelton wasn’t alone though, 49 other Mariposa citizens made the mistake of visiting the post office Wednesday afternoon and also wound up as possible jurors.
Merced Sun Star: Presiding Judge Dana Walton said that “hundreds” of jury summons were mailed out, but when one-third of the people failed to show up, he had to call in reinforcements.
Calling on a seldom-used civil code procedure, Walton sent court bailiffs out to the busiest part of town — the Mariposa Post Office — to gather up new blood for the jury pool.
“We certainly didn’t want to do this, but defendants have the right to have a trial before a jury of their peers,” Walton said. “It’s unfortunate for those who got caught up in it, but I’m sorry, it is a duty.”
Bailiffs were sent to Jessie Street, home of the Mariposa Post Office and Pioneer Market, where Walton thought they’d be sure to get a “true random sample of the community.”
Post office employees said that the bailiffs waited in the parking lot and told customers to report to jury duty immediately — or go to jail.
That didn’t rest well with Skelton, nor did it please her bosses at the small manufacturing company just outside of town. Skelton is the office manager at the company and many of her duties didn’t get get finished on Wednesday.“We have things we have to do everyday, and she’s the only person who can do it,” said the company’s owner, who asked not to be identified. Other potential jurors had children in school and didn’t have time to make arrangements, Skelton said.
Skelton went to the post office at 12:30 p.m., and was cornered by the bailiffs, who told her to report to the courthouse by 1 p.m. She said she understood the need to locate additional jurors, but she was irritated at the process. She said other potential jurors included a man with a baby and an elderly woman who had trouble hearing.
“They didn’t use discretion on the people they summoned, and they should have,” she said. “Finding a jury pool up here isn’t easy because everybody knows everybody, but to take people off the street is kind of ridiculous.”
Photo courtesy Yosemiter.com