Oregon judge tries dialing, rounding up jurors

EUGENE, Ore. — A juror shortage forced a judge to look through a phone book before sending sheriff's deputies out into the street to round up enough people for a trial.

Lane County Presiding Judge Mary Ann Bearden said an unusually large number of criminal trials combined with an equally unusual number of no-shows for jury duty forced her to invoke a little-used state law.

"I dealt with some angry people," the judge said. "They didn't think it was fair."

But an additional 10 to 12 people were needed for the jury pool for a sex abuse trial set to begin after lunch Wednesday before Judge Gregory Foote. Other cases needed jurors, too.

"We had three extremely important criminal cases and needed to take extraordinary measures," Bearden said.

After trying the phone book and making some calls without much success, Bearden ordered Lane County sheriff's deputies to go out on a downtown Eugene street and summon citizens to immediate jury service.

"I'm sure all of them had some place they would rather be on a beautiful, sunny August day," Bearden said.

One of the three jury trials that began Wednesday was for Steven Christopher Day, charged with kidnapping, sexual abuse and sodomy.

Another trial was a domestic violence case against Anthony Lee Weber, who also faced aggravated animal abuse charges.

The third was a trial for Lawrence Scott McCandless on sodomy and sex abuse charges.

Bearden said the jury pool may have been smaller than normal because people who have experienced domestic violence, sex abuse and child abuse personally or in their families often declare that they are unable to sit on such a case.

In any event, Bearden found herself using Oregon Revised Statute 10.235(4) for the first time since becoming presiding judge six years ago.

Jury supervisor Tana Tracewell, a 25-year court employee, said she believed that it had been 20 years or more since a Lane County judge had to order on-the-spot summonses.

Bearden said she looked up the statute to make sure it was still in effect.

But it's language proved vague enough that Sgt. Doug Osborne of the Lane County Sheriff's Office said he wasn't sure how his four deputies were to carry it out.

So Bearden offered some very specific marching orders: "I told them, 'Walk out that door onto Pearl Street and summon the first 10 to 12 people you see,"'