A Georgia woman who skipped jury duty was ordered by the judge to write a 30-page essay on the importance of jury service. Identified only as Juror #64, she had been on a trip to the Dominican Republic and did not show up for jury selection when it began in Fulton County. The potential juror was given the reprimand upon returning three days later. She had been summoned for the high-profile trial of rapper Young Thug.
Doling out the punishment when she turned up late to the courtroom, Judge Ural Glanville told the woman he understood that "you can't be in two places at one time," but that several other prospective jurors had "lost hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to be here" while she went on holiday.
Judge Glanville had initially threatened to hold the woman in contempt of court, which typically comes with a $1,000 fine, 20 days in jail or both. But, after learning she was a college graduate, he dished out a different kind of punishment: a 30-page paper due in three weeks.
"Here's the criteria: you have to do APA style, you're going to have to use at least 10 primary sources, 10 secondary sources," the judge said. He said that "at a minimum" the essay must address the history of jury service and who could not serve on a jury in the past, as well as jury service in Georgia and discrimination in jury selection, noting that "years ago, people that look like us couldn't serve on juries". Glanville added that the essay would be run through a plagiarism checker, telling the woman: "You've got to write it yourself, and then you're going to come back and talk to me about it."
Some 600 people have so far been summoned for the trial of the Grammy-winning artist Young Thug, who is accused of using his YSL music label for racketeering and gang conspiracy. The trial is expected to last six to nine months and has the potential to set new legal precedents as prosecutors have submitted lyrics by "Thugger" as evidence of crime or criminal intent.
But critics argue that rap verses are being cherry-picked and misrepresented in courtrooms across the country. The artists maintain their innocence and have strongly objected to the use of their lyrics in court.
Jury selection in the trial is expected to last at least two weeks, with dozens of potential jurors already excused from service or requesting exemptions due to child care obligations, professional hardships and other reasons. Up to 300 witnesses may also be called, including Dr Erik Nielson - the foremost expert on the use of rap lyrics in criminal cases - and rappers Lil Wayne and Rich Homie Quan.
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