A Brazilian national lived with us for two years as an exchange student, during which time she turned 18 years of age. She has since returned to Brazil and attends university there. She will, however, come back to the States in December to work as an intern over her school's summer vacation.

Recently we received a jury summons addressed to her. We didn't do anything about it and, obviously, she didn't appear at the courthouse as a potential juror. Since we have learned that she will be coming back to the US we are somewhat concerned that there may be a contempt of court charge facing her.

What's the law here (Colorado Springs, CO) and should we do anything on her behalf?

Well what you needed to do was contact the court when you got the summons,

I would go down to the court to be sure there is no problems.

In CO, you can be chosen for Jury Duty if you do one of the following:

- Pay taxes, both employment and property
- Obtain a driver's license
- Register to vote
- Register a vehicle

If she didn't do any of those things, she should not have ever received a summons. The first place to start is the Jury Commissioner in CO Springs... Jury Commissioner's Office

Specifically for Co Springs, there could have been a 'Show Cause' order made, which is where the summonee is made party in a case to present themselves in front of a judge to explain why they did not appear. You may or may not have received that Show Cause summons by now, so you should contact the Jury Commissioner's office (or she should) and explain the situation: 719-385-5926

You can also talk to the court directly... Colorado Springs Municipal Court

Hope that helps!

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Originally Posted by jimnnancy

A Brazilian national lived with us for two years as an exchange student, during which time she turned 18 years of age. She has since returned to Brazil and attends university there. She will, however, come back to the States in December to work as an intern over her school's summer vacation.

Recently we received a jury summons addressed to her. We didn't do anything about it and, obviously, she didn't appear at the courthouse as a potential juror. Since we have learned that she will be coming back to the US we are somewhat concerned that there may be a contempt of court charge facing her.

What's the law here (Colorado Springs, CO) and should we do anything on her behalf?

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This is a mistake and there are many of these up to this day. Only US citizens are eligible for jury duty. What you should do when you received the notice is call that number specified in the notice and tell them that
1. She is no longer there.. and
2. She is not a US citizen.

Since it has been quite sometimes, what you should do now is send a letter explaining the 2 reasons above and return the document.

Duh... that's right... you have to be a citizen. I'm intrigued now to know how someone on a visa got a jury summons...