The Ticker Takes On GT County Court

So you’ve gotten yourself into a jam with the law, been arraigned and are now awaiting trial before a jury of your peers, right?

Wrong.

“That’s really a popular myth,” 86th District Court Chief Judge T.J. Phillips tells The Ticker. “Defendants are entitled to a fair and impartial jury, not a jury of their peers.”

Judge Phillips, along with fellow 86th District Court Judges Michael Haley and Michael Stepka, hears cases daily, traveling among Grand Traverse, Antrim and Leelanau county courtrooms to do so.

The Ticker tapped Judge Phillips, who served as a defense attorney for 24 years and a judge for the last 11, for a tour of the local judical system.

He tells us the 86th District Court includes four divisions:
• The civil division handles cases involving money or damage claims, plus landlord/tenant disputes.
• The criminal division is responsible for processing paperwork filed by police, state law and prosecutors.
• The traffic division processes citations written by police.
• And the probation department conducts pre-sentence investigations, alcohol assessments, probation violation hearings and supervises offenders.

Good to know for the accused and their accusers, but what about those unlucky innocents who get yanked into court for jury duty?

The names of some 2,000 potential local jurors are pulled each year from state driver’s license and state ID card lists, and then contacted by mail. Each judge conducts jury selection one day a month. At this time, 40 to 45 potential jurors are summoned to the GT County courthouse. Failure to respond to the summons can result in a jail term, but that’s pretty rare. “There have been a couple of people jailed in the 11 years that I’ve been serving,” recalls Judge Phillips. “But it’s unusual. Most people show up.”

Are there actually people who volunteer for jury duty?

“No, we don’t allow volunteers – that might affect the impartiality of the jury,” explains Judge Phillips. “But we do have people come in who really want to serve.”

Others are reluctant to serve for a variety of reasons.

“The first and foremost is because it interferes with their job,” explains Judge Phillips. “But employment is not a valid reason to be excused. A juror may be excused for health reasons, or if they are a new mom, or if there’s been a death or funeral in the family, or if they have a paid-for, planned vacation. Folks over 70 years of age also have the option of not serving.”

Also complicating matters Up North: Snowbirds are usually out of town from January to May, so the court often reschedules their jury service to fit their schedule.

Jurors are paid mileage for reporting to the court and also are paid for each day they appear in court for jury duty. In GT County, that’s $25.00 for the first day, and $40.00 for each subsequent day of actual service, plus $.25 per mile in travel expenses.

Sound like a bum deal for a day’s work? You won’t find a sympathetic ear in Judge Phillips. He’s passionate about the vital role that juries play in the judicial system.

“It’s very, very important,” he says. “There’s a constitutional right to have a jury trial where the people decide the guilt or innocence of a person. And, I believe, that system works. Juries are a vital part of our culture and our legal system.”