Woman skirts jury duty for beach vacation

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A juror who walked out on deliberations to take a vacation in Cancun probably won’t be happy when she returns.

Ivana Samardzic of Milwaukee could face sanctions from Circuit Judge J.D. Watts. And at the very least, officials say she’ll be thrown right back into the pool of prospective jurors for next month, instead of getting a customary four-year reprieve.

Samardzic was part of a jury hearing a reckless-injury case last week. After two hours of deliberations, Judge Watts told them to go home and return the next day, but only 11 came back.

Samardzic told a court clerk she was on her way to a vacation in Cancun, Mexico. With an agreement from the attorneys, the judge allowed the remaining 11 jurors to proceed. They found Spartacus Outlaw guilty of owning a firearm as a convicted felon – but they could not reach a unanimous verdict on a reckless injury charge, and a mistrial was declared.

Judge Watts has ordered Samardzic back into court next week. Court officials said she probably could have gotten out of hearing the case if she mentioned the vacation at the start. But once a trial begins, the selected jurors must serve for the entire proceedings.

Tags: wisconsin