Juror Sanction Hearings for West District

Los Angeles Superior Court Los Angeles County www.lasuperiorcourt.org Contact: Public Information Office 213-974-5227 Public Information Officer: Allan Parachini

NEWS    

RELEASE

Dec. 23, 2009

 

EDITOR’S NOTE: No courtroom photography is allowed unless prearranged with Supervising Judge Gerald Rosenberg.  IF summoned parties agree, they may be interviewed and photographed OUTSIDE the courthouse following their court appearance.

 

West District Jurors Ordered

To Appear for Sanction Hearings

 

Santa Monica — As part of the Los Angeles Superior Court’s coordinated program to encourage voluntary participation in jury service, West District Supervising Judge Gerald Rosenberg will convene juror sanction hearings for West District citizens who did not respond to jury-service notices mailed on three separate occasions to their last known address.

The sanction hearings begin at 1:30 p.m. on three Tuesdays during January – Jan. 12, 19 and 26 -- in Department A, first floor, Room 104, Santa Monica Courthouse, 1725 Main St., 90401. The jurors to whom notices were mailed in the West District are among thousands who may face stiff fines, plus a new jury service assignment.

“Sanctions are a last resort, but even at that late date, monetary sanctions may not be imposed if a person agrees to serve.  The Court’s priority is having the people cooperate with us to ensure that jury service is shared by all eligible citizens in Los Angeles County, as mandated by the Legislature,” said Presiding Judge Charles W. McCoy Jr.

            “The Court has no interest whatsoever in using these sanctions as a source of money,” said McCoy.  

Because a 1999 court rule established One Trial Jury Service, jurors now summoned for jury duty need only be present at a courthouse for a single day of jury selection.  Although members of a jury panel may be asked to return the following day, all others in the jury assembly room will be excused at the end of the day with their jury duty obligation completed for at least 12 months.

If chosen for a jury however, a juror must serve until the case is completed.

 

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