MUNICIPAL COURT Appear for jury, or what?

The chief bailiff sent out 150 summonses; typically he sends 100.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Municipal court jury summonses sent to city residents contain an empty threat that "failure to respond and appear" will be considered contempt of court and result in an arrest warrant.
Municipal Judge Elizabeth A. Kobly said the law requires that summonses be sent by regular mail and, although one can assume summonses not returned by the post office were delivered, that's not good enough for prosecution.
"We'd have to prove they ignored the summons," Judge Kobly said Thursday. "It's a problem for every jury session."
The judge said if summonses were hand-delivered by police or a bailiff or sent by certified mail, the court would have proof of receipt and that "would give us the ability to punish."
She said a contempt-of-court conviction carries a discretionary sentence -- it could be three to 10 days in jail, for example, plus a fine.
Because the law says the summonses go out by "regular mail," it creates what Judge Kobly called a Catch-22 situation when it comes to enforcement. "It's a dilemma, no two ways about it. We do the best we can."
There's no push at this time to change the current system because of budget constraints, Judge Kobly said. Pursuing contempt-of-court charges -- which would mean arrests and hearings and likely the fees for court-appointed lawyers -- would be too costly, she said.
Here's an example
For the assault trial of Michael and Thomas Romano last week, 150 jury summonses were mailed out by Chief Bailiff Michael Crogan. Each contained a stamped envelope in which to return the accompanying questionnaire.
Of the 150, Crogan said the post office returned 25 as undeliverable. Judge Kobly said the city's transient population means many people don't live at the address they used to register to vote.
Of the remaining 125 summonses sent out, 64 potential jurors showed up May 21 for orientation. For the first day of trial May 26, the number dropped to 62, and from that number, an eight-member jury and one alternate were chosen.
For the 61 men and women whose summonses were presumably delivered but who failed to appear, nothing will be done, Judge Kobly said.
Crogan said the cost of the Romano brothers' jury session is $2,175. Jurors, including potential jurors, are paid $15 per day.
Who pays bill
Judge Kobly said Michael Romano, who was found guilty of assaulting a union organizer, will be assessed the entire cost of the jury session. "He wanted a jury trial, and he's working; he's not indigent," she said.
Michael Romano, 38, of Wampum, Pa., will be sentenced June 28.
The jury could not reach a decision for his brother, Thomas, 34, of New Castle, and Judge Kobly declared a mistrial. City Prosecutor Dionne M. Almasy said Thursday that her office hasn't decided whether to try the case again.
Crogan said he will revert to sending out 100 jury summonses for the next jury session, which begins June 21.
More summonses were sent for the Romano trial because only 15 potential jurors showed for the brothers' original trial date in March, Crogan said.
Judge Kobly has said 20 potential jurors are usually enough from which to select a jury, but with two defendants, a bigger jury pool was needed.
meade@vindy.com