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19 face Judge Belvin Perry for failure to report to jury duty

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Some Orange County residents who had previously failed to report for jury duty had to report to court Wednesday.

Nineteen people stood in front of Chief Judge Belvin Perry and told him why they didn't show up for jury duty.

The 19 gave excuses ranging from medical problems to transportation issues, and some just said it slipped their minds.

Some also said they never received their initial summons, but that they did get their failure to appear letter, so Perry called that into question.

There was one week in January when the 4,400 summons that should have gone out did not. WFTV asked the jury coordinator if anyone of the 19 people scheduled to appear were because of that and she said, "No."

In this situation, the judge can do one or all of the following: Give someone a fine, order community service or move forward with a contempt of court proceeding.

All of the people were either given fines or options to come back and serve on a jury.

But Perry did not let anyone go without expressing his thoughts on the importance of serving jury duty.