30 Arizonans fined for missing jury duty in federal court

PHOENIX - If you get a jury summons in the mail, you better follow through with it. An Arizona judge has started fining people for skipping out and it's not cheap.

The district judge is proving a point -- that jury duty is serious business and they're not fooling around.

It's something that most of us will have to do, at least once in our lifetimes. Well, maybe not everyone, just yet. But it is a state law that if you're summoned to jury duty, you must go, unless you're excused.

Maybe some people didn't get the memo. Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Steven Logan called 32 people in the Phoenix and Prescott areas into court for a hearing over failing to show up for jury duty. 30 of those people had no legitimate reason for missing jury duty. They were each fined in amounts up to $500.

The two people left -- well, they didn't show up to court at all and now they have arrest warrants issued against them.

A good reminder -- that however boring you think it might be, it is the law. People who ignore a jury summons can face a fine of up to $1,000, be jailed for three days or be ordered to do community service.