Federal Judge Levies $1K Max Fine on Man Who Left Voicemail, Skipped Jury Duty Mid-Trial for Meeting
A federal judge in Chicago imposed the maximum $1,000 fine Tuesday on an Illinois man who left a voicemail message for another judge in the middle of a Medicare fraud trial saying that he had to skip jury duty for a business meeting in another state.
However, U.S. District Judge James Holderman didn’t jail Scott C. Enke, 33, as he could have done after finding him in contempt in March, according to the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times and NBC Chicago.
Enke, who works as a medical sales representative, apologized in court. In addition to paying a fine, he must also attend an American Bar Association jury service symposium in October and write a report to the court about his experience as a juror that can be used to help educate others.
“What I thought was more important wasn’t,” said Enke in court, noting that widespread publicity about the incident has embarrassed him and made him, as he put it, look dumb.
“I do feel bad and am sorry for putting the jury through this,” he added.
Updated on July 11 to include additional details about jury service symposium.
