Eight Blaine County residents were sentenced earlier this month to two days on the sheriff's work detail for failing to show up for jury duty at a lengthy civil trial that started in February in 5th District Court.
The eight were among a group of 17 alleged no-show jurors who were summoned before District Court Judge Robert J. Elgee for show-cause hearings on May 7. Elgee sentenced one man to only one day on the work detail, while three others pleaded not guilty and five no-show jurors didn't show up to explain why that hadn't shown up in the first place.
For the five second-time no-shows, Elgee dismissed contempt-of-court charges against two of them because of alleged criminal activities, and gave the other three a second chance because they hadn't been served notice of the hearings.
The nine residents who were sentenced to service on the Blaine County sheriff's work program all pleaded guilty to contempt of court and were given a 60-day time frame in which to serve their sentences.
The sheriff's work detail consists of tasks such as washing police vehicles, picking up litter on county roads, cleaning up at the animal shelter or recycling centers, and mowing and landscaping on county grounds.
The civil trial in question was "Chris and Pam Matey vs. Ford Motor Company, et al." The trial, which started on Feb. 21 and lasted almost three weeks, concerned a lawsuit filed by the Mateys against Ford because of a vehicle accident in 2005 that left their teenage son permanently disabled.
Some 120 county residents were summoned for jury selection, which lasted two days.
Excuses offered by the 12 no-show jurors at Elgee's May 7 hearing mainly concerned claims of confusion over the jury duty process.
One man told the court that he failed to show up because he "did not read the back of the form." Three others said they showed up but were late and jury selection was already underway.
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One man asked Elgee if he could pay a fine instead. Elgee said no.
Elgee showed leniency in one situation and sentenced one man to only one day on the sheriff's work detail. According to court minutes, the Bellevue man told the judge that he has dutifully served on two previous juries but reported too late for the start of Matey vs. Ford.
Elgee dismissed contempt-of-court charges against two no-show jurors because of alleged criminal activities. Carlos Moya-Diaz, of Hailey, is currently incarcerated in the Blaine County Jail facing multiple drug-dealing charges, and court records say Emilio Valencia, of Bellevue, is a "convicted felon."
Blaine County court personnel told the Idaho Mountain Express that Elgee has imposed sheriff's work-detail sentences previously for people who fail to show up for jury duty, but typically only sentences them to one day. The two-day sentences were imposed, they said, because the jury selection process in this case took two days.
Fifth District Court Judge Robert J. Elgee recently sentenced nine Blaine County residents to service on the sheriff?s work detail after they failed to report for jury duty in February.
Photo by Mountain Express
