Jury selection for one of the biggest trials to hit Santa Maria since the Michael Jackson trial started in mid-November, but it’s far from over. Another round of juror summonses were called the week of Thanksgiving for the so-called U-Haul murder trial.
Officials from the Santa Barbara County Superior Court said they summoned 500 jurors to the Santa Maria Fairpark on Nov. 24, but only 185 appeared. And that was on top of the first pool of 2,100 jurors who were summoned to appear the week of Nov. 17—but only a third reported for duty, said Darrel Parker, executive director for the Santa Barbara County Superior Court.
In 2005, 4,000 jurors were summoned for the Michael Jackson trial.
Parker said the court mails a gigantic number of summonses in big trials like these to ensure that enough people will be available for the trial. Of the U-Haul trial group, 236 were selected for the next phase of jury screening (which has already begun) known as voir dire, when attorneys question jurors for biases.
Six defendants—Ramon David Maldonado, David Murillo Maldonado Jr., Santos Manuel Sauceda, Reyes Gonzales Jr., Jason Castillo, and Anthony Jesus Solis—are charged in the murder of 28-year-old Anthony Ibarra, whose body was found stabbed and beaten in the back of a U-Haul truck March 17, 2013, in Orcutt. Four other defendants in the case accepted plea deals, and a fifth—Ramon Maldonado’s son, Ramon Maldonado Jr.—will be tried separately.
Many of the potential jurors were no-shows, however Parker said that this could be for a number of reasons. Mainly, he thinks that people moved and didn’t update their addresses with the court.
“That’s why we summon so many,” Parker said. “We never expected 700 people to show up. We know that 20 percent of those are bad addresses because people move and don’t update their addresses.”
Parker also named the holidays as a reason why some people failed to show.
Over the course of the preliminary screening process, the judge gradually narrowed the juror pool. The prevailing questions seemed to be whether a person had a job, if they were the primary income earner in their household, and if their employer allowed days off for jury duty.
At least 30 people from the first pool were excused from jury duty, according to a defense attorney in the case, David Bixby.
Eventually, the jury will be narrowed down to 12 jurors and six alternates. The court hopes to finish the selection process by Dec. 19, which is when the county’s lease with the city for the Fairpark expires.
After the jury is selected, the trial will be moved to the juvenile court on Foster Road, Parker said. The trial is expected to last until the end of February.
Occasionally, the court conducts failure to appear hearings in an attempt to compel people to make themselves available for jury duty. According to Section 209 of California’s Code of Civil Procedure, a person who fails to comply with a jury duty summons could face a contempt of court charge, and face a fine of up to $1,500, some jail time, or both.
Despite the punishments, Parker added that a person could still be compelled to serve on jury duty.
“It’s an obligation to serve,” Parker said. “You can’t buy your way out of jury duty.”
This article appears in Dec 4-11, 2014.