Judge sends potential juror to jail

He has two mortgages, a sick mother and a 2-year-old child.

John H. Williams Jr. of Pasadena told a judge yesterday he just couldn't take the time last March to perform jury duty.

"I really wanted to try to do jury duty, but it's a joke," Mr. Williams said, explaining why he walked out on jury selection March 25, cursed at the county's deputy jury commissioner and then proceeded to give her the finger.

"I mean, I'll be perfectly honest with you. You guys waste an entire day of my time sitting around for absolutely nothing."

While Mr. Williams may not be alone in his feelings about jury duty, his bluntness earned him no lenience from Circuit Court Judge William C. Mulford II. After hearing the non-apology, the judge ordered the self-employed defense contractor to spend the night at the Jennifer Road Detention Center. He will be released this morning.

"In this county, jury service is not a joke. It is your civil duty. It is your solemn duty," Judge Mulford said, according to a recording of the hearing.

He noted that only six out of 12,600 jurors didn't show up for jury service last year and that he sent five of them to jail as well. He said that is compared to Baltimore city, where 33 to 35 percent of jurors show up for jury duty.

"You are completely in contempt of court," Judge Mulford said.

The sentence became the talk of the courthouse and drew the praises of State's Attorney Frank Weathersbee.

"There is really no reason a person should not serve," he said, stressing that the nation's judicial system depends on citizens sitting on juries. "At least in Anne Arundel County, the jury commissioner is very accommodating."

Mr. Williams was given several chances to fulfill his jury obligation.

Judge Mulford said Mr. Williams was first scheduled for jury service Feb. 12, but he didn't show.

The jury commissioner automatically rescheduled Mr. Williams for March 25. While he showed up that time, Mr. Williams walked out of Judge Pamela North's courtroom as attorneys sifted through an 82-person jury pool - asking questions about their backgrounds and prejudices in order to pick a panel of impartial jurors. The process, called "voir dire," can take hours.

Also that day, before Mr. Williams left the county courthouse in Annapolis, he stopped in the jury office. When the deputy jury commissioner told him to return for possible jury service March 27, Mr. Williams said he was "not coming back and that we were not going to make his (expletive) mortgage payment," Judge Mulford said. Mr. Williams then gave the jury commissioner the finger and left.

On the morning of March 27, Mr. Williams called the county jury office and said he had a headache. When asked to provide a doctors note, Mr. Williams responded: "Well they are just going to have to come pick me up."

It didn't come to that. He received a court summons April 14 ordering him to appear in front of Judge Mulford.