SANTA ANA : Judge Clears Record of Juror Mistakenly Jailed

A Superior Court judge has erased the arrest record of a prospective juror who was mistakenly jailed for failure to appear for duty, court authorities said Wednesday.

“We made a mistake. It’s unfortunate that it happened but the court has taken great pains to expunge the man’s arrest record,” said Alan Slater, executive officer of the court.

The male juror, whose name was not released, was arrested and taken to Orange County Jail the night of Feb. 21. The next day a friend posted bail and he was released.

Slater said the man was among a group of jurors excused by Superior Court Judge Ragnar R. Engebretsen because they could not serve the estimated length of a criminal trial in Engebretsen’s court.

Engebretsen’s clerk mistakenly included the juror’s name with other prospective jurors who had indicated they were able to serve, Slater said.

“When his name was called and he didn’t appear, the judge issued a bench warrant,” Slater said.

Recently, a Municipal Court judge sentenced a prospective juror who failed to appear. Another Superior Court judge ordered a juror to spend two days in jail for disregarding an order to appear promptly after the lunch hour.

Residents face a maximum fine of $250 for not appearing for jury service.

When the error was brought to the judge’s attention, Engebretsen said he telephoned the juror and said he would erase the arrest record.

“I called him and he said he didn’t want any notoriety on this because of any harmful effects to his job and his image in the community,” Engebretsen said.

The judge said he had told other court officials that he would “stand on the courthouse steps and apologize” if it would satisfy the juror for the inconvenience.