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Kokua Line
Question: Could you please find out why some of us get called for jury duty questioning every single time we fill out the questionnaire and some people fill it out but never get called? Keep in mind, none of these people has a medical problem or been convicted of a crime, etc. In my 52 years, I've gone four times and I just received one again. If I have the guts, I'm going to write on my questionnaire: "NO! Enough already!" You can get jury duty
every other yearAnswer: It's really just the luck of the draw, insist officials of both the state and federal courts.
The state Judiciary typically sends questionnaires during the summer, with people selected for the jury pool told to be on call during the following year, said jury clerk supervisor Freida Baker. The last mailings were in July and August.
State law says a person cannot be called for jury duty two years in a row. However, "they could be eligible every other year, by law," Baker said.
"It's a random selection," she said. "We select names off the driver, voter and state tax lists."
The computer is then programmed to "to spit out 80,000 names for Oahu," Baker said, resulting in 80,000 questionnaires being mailed every summer. "From there, people receive the forms and fill them out. Whoever is qualified goes through another random selection and then are certified for the following year to be summoned."
About 40,000 people are on call every year. Of that, about 30,000 may be summoned, although not all actually serve.
Since some people receive the questionnaire in the summer, then a summons the following year, "They think, "Oh, every year, they're calling me,'" Baker said.
In the U.S. District Court, questionnaires are sent every odd year, said jury clerk Cynthia Aranador. The last federal mailing was done at the beginning of 1999.
Roughly 60,000 to 70,000 questionnaires are sent, with names culled from Hawaii driver's license and voter registration lists, Aranador said. Of that, about 20,000 names are put into the "qualified jury wheel" every two years.
Names are pulled "at random, believe it our not," Aranador said. In fact, if duplicate social security numbers are found on the driver's license and voter registration lists, one number is purged so that person's chance of getting called isn't doubled, she said.
There is no age limit to serving on a state court jury, but you can be excused from serving on a federal jury if you are over the age of 70.
Q: I saw an ad in in the Feb. 4 car section about a battery-operated car. The car doesn't have any doors. I have an old car. If I were to take my doors off, will I get a ticket? Is it just special cars that can drive around town without any doors?
A: You can't drive around legally without any doors on your car, said Dennis Kamimura, city motor vehicle and licensing administrator.
The vehicle in question had to meet federal requirements, he said
Mahalo
To residents of McKinley Street in Manoa for decorating homes and lawns with beautiful lights this past Christmas holiday. They brought so much enjoyment to neighborhood as well as to those driving by. -- No name
Mahalo
To whoever mailed me back my lost wallet. The money was gone, but more precious to me were the old photos of my family and my medical cards. I am 82 years old and very grateful. -- No name
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