Board 8 > 21 y/o Kid gets 10 DAYS JAIL because he OVERSLEPT and missed JURY DUTY!.

(+) Yeah! (+)

21 y/o Deandre Somerville from West Palm Beach, Florida was sentenced to 10 DAYS in JAIL because he OVERSLEPT and MISSED his JURY DUTY!!

He was chosen to serve as a juror for a civil automobile accident negligence on August 20 and was supposed to return to Florida's 15th judicial circuit court the following day at 9am..but he overslept by 2 hours and failed to notify court and instead went to work...

3 weeks later, 5-0 arrived and he was ordered to attend a hearing where Judge John Kastrenakes found him in CRIMINAL CONTEMPT of court and was sentenced to 10 days in the slammer, a year of probation and a 223 fine as well as a 100 word APOLOGY LETTER

He said "I should have called. But i was kind of nervous. I also went online to look up what could really happen and i didn't see too much there..it looked like nobody actually ever went to jail for it"

He also has to write an apology of no less than 100 words and serve 150 hours of community service that include once a week 10 minute discussion on the importance of jury duty

His sentence and jail time was "traumatic" as it's put a strain on his family and has no prior record

The judge YELLED at him stating the trial wasdelayed foran hour as they waited for him and were unable to reach him on cell.

He said "For me it was like,dang, it was the first time i go to a courtroom and the second time i show up i get jail time. I feel like the punishment could have been probation or community service. Why did you have to throw me in jail? Because you assumed i was one way?? It's easy to throw someone in jail versus spending the time to really see someone and asking them how they work"

The 10 days neglected him from helping hi sfamily and he's not working he can't maintain the household and pay bills and take his granddad to therapy.

Judge Kastrakes voided his prior order of guilty, meaning his criminal record is cleared but he's already spent time in the slammer and reduced his probation to 3 months and community service to 30 hours

He said it used this as a lesson and a learning experience as he's never been to jail as jail isn't made for him where he was around criminals even for doing something that's not even a real criminal act

On Friday he had to read out a letter of apology to the court where he described it as an immature decision and paid for with his freedom and was extremely sorry and a wake up call as he won't let this define him or his future

Do you think missing Jury Duty should be a crime?

Deandre -











Judge Goat -




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Land of the free
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Full Throttle posted...

wake up call

I see what you did there.
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That's harsh but also you have to contact the court if you miss

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I'm not aware of Florida's laws or sentencing guidelines regarding missing jury duty, but 10 days might be a bit harsh (and could be a tad petty on the part of the judge).
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10 days in the slammer, a year of probation and a 223 fine as well as a 100 word APOLOGY LETTER

God, fuck this judge.

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Geez he threw the book at that kid

I myself have been summoned to jury twice. The first time I was actually selected to be a juror, and after over an hour of waiting to appear the following day the other jurors and I were told that the defendant plead no contest and thus wasted all our time. I still got my $20 or whatever court appearance fee I think, but I'd much rather have had the money I would've made from work that day obviously.

I can't remember what happened the second time I was summoned, but I think I forgot to show up on the day jurors were to be selected. Thank god my lack of attendance wasn't brought to court and overseen by a judge like this one. Yeesh...
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Nrrr posted...

223 fine as well as a 100 word APOLOGY LETTER

yeah I'd say this plus maybe 10-20 hours of community service would be appropriate. Jail time and 150 hours is pretty over the top, but again, you're majorly playing with fire if you are selected for a trial and just don't show up with no communication.

GenesisSaga posted...

I can't remember what happened the second time I was summoned, but I think I forgot to show up on the day jurors were to be selected. Thank god my lack of attendance wasn't brought to court and overseen by a judge like this one. Yeesh...

Well that's not as bad as actually being selected for a trial and then not showing up, like this guy did. I think most people could get away with missing the selection day, or at least not facing any serious consequences for it.

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It feels like information is missing here.

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