WHANGAREI - A judge has issued arrest warrants for 12 people whose failure to show for jury service in the Whangarei District Court last week led to a three-day trial being aborted.
Two others were fined $100 after failing to offer adequate excuses.
Judge Graham Hubble yesterday authorised police to arrest the reluctant jurors, who had been summonsed to court yesterday, with about 30 others, to explain their absence last week.
They were in a jury pool for the trial of three men facing multiple burglary and theft charges.
Judge Hubble explained that the trial had to be aborted for lack of a jury when lawyers each exhausted their six challenges and ran out of jurors.
"That meant that all those jurors who did bother to come had their time completely wasted and the court lost three days of hearing time.
"And the reason for it was that some 30 jurors of the total list - that would be half of them - failed to show."
Judge Hubble had all the "no shows" summonsed early yesterday.
"A number of them still didn't bother to appear and I've issued warrants for them. Some had excuses but those who didn't have excuses were fined $100."
Section 32 of the Juries Act gives judges the power to have people arrested, brought before the court and fined up to $300 if they fail to appear for jury service.
"They should realise that if the courts are going to function properly without huge wastes of taxpayer money then they do need to show up and do their bit."
Judge Hubble, who is based in Auckland, said he had never before had to issue arrest warrants for jurors.
"You used to be able to lock the doors and grab anybody in the precinct of the court but we can't do that now."
Court staff said the last time a judge in Whangarei summonsed no-show jurors was in 1996.
Meanwhile, the rescheduled trial of the three men clocked up its third day yesterday before a jury of six men and six women. Tom Tuhiwai, Jeremy Tuhiwai and Nicholas Te Paa face a total of 39 charges, including burglary, theft, receiving and wilfully setting fire to a car.
- NZPA
Judge orders arrest of absent jurors
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