Jurors advised to verify county residency

In an example of a situation that is very uncommon but not unheard of, a citizen who is technically a resident of Franklin County was recently selected to serve on a jury in Caribou County due to the jury notification system using P.O. Box addresses rather than physical home addresses.

Caribou County Prosecutor Doug Wood was recently representing the county in  a jury trial for DUI charges.  The case ended in a hung jury, which means that it will either be dismissed or retried.  After the fact, however, Wood had a report that one of the jurors may possibly have been a citizen of Franklin county, which turned out to be the case. 

Obviously, a juror from another county would represent a problem with any verdict that was arrived at, and most likely grounds for a mistrial if not more.  The fact that the jury could not reach a verdict was not affected by the juror in question, who is reported to have been under the impression that he had standing as a juror in Caribou County for a number of reasons, and lives essentially on the border of the county.

The issue was raised at Monday’s County Commission meeting, and is something most people have probably never considered, as it is unlikely to affect many individuals outside of the perfectly aligned circumstances as in this case.

County Clerk Jill Stoor noted that the juror system in Idaho uses P.O. Boxes, and the individual has a P.O. Box in Grace in Caribou County.  She explained that this is a very rare issue, and the individual expressed a clear unawareness of having made the error.  Prosecutor Wood was convinced that the individual was honestly confused.  The trial will need to be retried in any case, due to the hung jury.  

Residents are advised, however, to consult court officials if they believe they have received a similarly incorrect jury summons, as it can have a serious effect on any court case in which it becomes an issue.

The Idaho State Police also recently reported on a phone scam in which callers with “spoofed” numbers (which appear local) cold call individuals and inform them that they are in violation of federal law for failure to appear as a juror.  The scam is complicated, but boils down to the callers trying to acquire the victim’s credit card information or even signature.  ISP advises residents that no such phone calls would ever be made by law enforcement.