An Atlanta judge is going after potential jurors who failed to show up for screening in the case of accused courthouse killer Brian Nichols.
DeKalb County Senior Superior Court Judge Hilton Fuller has sent letters to 60 people who missed their appointments. The letters order the AWOL jury candidates to show up at the Fulton County Courthouse on July 19 to explain why they skipped out on jury duty.
If they do not show up, the letter says, a sheriff's deputy will serve them a contempt citation.
"You should be aware that an unexplained failure to appear may be punished in the form of a fine and/or jail service time," Fuller's letter states.
Those 60 candidates are just a small fraction of the 2,800 potential jurors summoned to fill out questionnaires in the case. Nichols' death penalty trial is scheduled to begin in September. He is accused of killing a sitting judge, a court reporter, a sheriff's deputy, and a federal agent in 2005. The overwhelming attention to the crimes has made it harder to select qualified, unbiased jurors.
DeKalb County Senior Superior Court Judge Hilton Fuller has sent letters to 60 people who missed their appointments. The letters order the AWOL jury candidates to show up at the Fulton County Courthouse on July 19 to explain why they skipped out on jury duty.
If they do not show up, the letter says, a sheriff's deputy will serve them a contempt citation.
"You should be aware that an unexplained failure to appear may be punished in the form of a fine and/or jail service time," Fuller's letter states.
Those 60 candidates are just a small fraction of the 2,800 potential jurors summoned to fill out questionnaires in the case. Nichols' death penalty trial is scheduled to begin in September. He is accused of killing a sitting judge, a court reporter, a sheriff's deputy, and a federal agent in 2005. The overwhelming attention to the crimes has made it harder to select qualified, unbiased jurors.
