Judge clears record for man he gave 10 days in jail for oversleeping, missing jury duty
10/08/2019 11:19 am PDT
via WTIC:
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (WTIC) -- Deandre Somerville spent 10 days in a Florida jail after he overslept and didn't show up for jury duty, but the judge now says he won't have a criminal record.
Judge John Kastrenakes found the 21-year-old from West Palm Beach in contempt of court last month after he missed the civil trial and didn't call the court to explain what happened.
Kastrenakes vacated the contempt finding and rescinded the sentence of probation in an order he signed on Saturday.
Somerville was originally sentenced to 10 days in jail, 150 hours of community service, a written apology of at least 100 words, a year of probation and $233 in fees, according to court records. Somerville did not have a criminal record and the punishment prompted outrage on social media.
The judge reduced Somerville's punishment on Friday after the young man appealed his case in court.
He said that he ordered probation because he wanted other people to understand that serving on a jury “is serious business deserving of attention, respect and adherence to their oaths.”
He said the publicity surrounding the case made this clear, so Somerville's punishment was no longer necessary.
MORE: Judge clears record for man he gave 10 days in jail for oversleeping, missing jury duty - WTIC
