Sleeping in Greenwich Time today exposes the dirty little secret of Connecticut’s judicial system there’s no penalty for ignoring a jury duty summons. Those summons include a harsh warning that a fine will be imposed for failure to comply but don’t believe it. Years ago, one guy (a Greenwich resident, surely) simply sent a check to the court, explaining that he didn’t have time to serve. The check was passed around the court, then up to Hartford and eventually returned to its maker – there is no one in the state authorized to receive or process such penalties.
Don’t get me wrong: the day may come, and I hope it doesn’t, that you’ll be involved in a law suit and you will almost certainly then wish for a jury capable of intelligently evaluating your lawyer’s arguments (of course, there are matters where we attorneys pray for a fat, dumb jury that can be swayed by emotion, not facts, but generally ….) so civic duty and self-interest should persuade you to show up with your college degree and apply your brains. But you don’t have to.
It's all about the money & time – the State could care less how much time and money it costs us while on Jury Duty! I would still think twice about being a juror on some of these Major Crime Bosses trials – who wants to look over their shoulder day and night?