1/14/02

Michigan residents are being alerted about a fabricated e-mail jury summons circulating on the Internet as part of a promotion for a Warner Brothers television show which is misleading many people into thinking it's the real thing. People from Los Angeles to Philadelphia have reported receiving the fabricated online juror questionnaire. The e-mail has a subject line that reads, "Jury Duty Notification," an official-looking seal and the following message:

In accordance with the new online juror notification system (effective Jan. 1, 2002), please be advised that you have been selected for jury duty service. You are hereby summoned by the Superior Court for service as a trial juror, and must be available any day during the week of 2/11/02.

Your failure to respond to this summons will result in a hearing before a judicial officer. At that hearing, penalties including a possible fine of up to $1500 or more may be imposed. You must complete the following form to comply. Your answers to these questions will be used by the court to place you in an appropriate jury.

If the recipient fills out the form and clicks "submit," an ad for a show called "The Jamie Kennedy Experiment" on the WB network appears.

State Court Administrator in Lansing, John Ferry notes that Michigan does not have a Superior Court and does not send juror summonses via the Internet. "We advise anyone receiving this e-mail that it is not legitimate and should be ignored," he said.

Ferry adds that the Michigan judiciary is committed to improving the selection and treatment of jurors in the state. "Jurors are essential to our system of justice. We value their time, commitment, and the sacrifices that they make to perform this important role in our justice system. These phony jury summonses exhibit extremely poor judgment and a lack of respect for our justice system, not to mention a lack of respect for the public at large."

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