By Yuriy Andriyashchuk
Hip-HopVibe.com Staff Writer
Another day, another injustice in our corrupt justice system that attacks black people in America. This was the case for 21-year-old Deandre Somerville out of West Palm Beach, FL. He was scheduled to attend jury duty on August 20. He accidentally overslept and faced huge consequences for it.
Somerville is getting 10 days in jail for his absence, according to NBC News. Court records state that he didn’t notify the court. No reason was specified for doing this such as having no court contact information. This was all for a civil trial in Florida’s 15th judicial circuit.
“I should have called,” Somerville said to NBC News. “But I was kind of nervous. I also went online to look up what could really happen, and I didn’t really see too much there. … [It looked like] nobody actually ever really went to jail for it.”
Somerville did his research and didn’t see any punishments for missing jury duty. After that he went to work at his job at the city’s Parks and Recreation Department where he works with kids in after school programs. His punishment would come sooner than he thought.
On September 23, Palm Beach County Circuit Judge John S. Kastrenakes ruled Somerville guilty in criminal contempt of the court. Court records added that the trial waited for almost an hour for Somerville to show up.
“When a juror is selected and sworn, the administration of justice in this courthouse depends on you following the orders of the court,” said Kastrenakes.
In addition to the 10 days in jail, Somerville is getting a year of probation, 150 community service hours, a letter with an apology, and $223 that will pay for court costs. If he completes 30 hours of the community service and speaks to prospective jurors, the initial contempt order will be vacated. Yes, he was wrong for not notifying the court about oversleeping but the 10 days in jail, one year of probation, and 150 hours of community service is way too much.
Check out NBC News video of the case below.
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