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Only 60 people attended jury selection proceedings among the 143 people called, Superior Court Judge Larry Weeks said, noting that Juneau has one of the worst show-up rates for jury calls in the state.

"I don't think it's fair to persons who serve to have all those other folks out there skipping," he said.

Contempt of court can be punished by a fine of up to $300 and imprisonment for up to six months.

In the past, such orders to show cause have been mailed out, losing their impact, Weeks said. But these will be served by state troopers. If the recipients do not appear in court when required, Weeks will order arrest warrants, he added.

"I don't like that," he said. "Many of these people are of good will and just forget. We have to do something to make them remember, and this is it."

"Good for him," said Steven Rappe, who served as a juror in an assault trial in Juneau this summer.

Most potential jurors who were called for the trial he attended weren't chosen. Some were excused for personal hardships or because they knew people involved with the case.

There also were quite a few potential jurors who didn't show up, he added.

"I'd have no problem if they flat fined them," Rappe said.

The no-show problem didn't begin last week. Area Court Administrator Neil Nesheim said 40 percent of those called to Juneau juries since the 1988-89 fiscal year have not showed up.

That isn't the worst rate in the state. Barrow has been running a no-show rate of about 60 percent. But Nesheim said it is the worst rate in Southeast Alaska.

In Nome, 90 percent of prospective jurors have been showing up when called.

Weeks recalled holding a trial in Yakutat in which 125 people were called to seat a jury. He said 123 showed up.

"I didn't think it was optional," said John Morrell, who was selected for a jury in Juneau this summer.

Weeks said jury service is the only act the Legislature requires of Alaskans who receive a permanent fund dividend.

Considered as a payment for jury duty, Rappe said, "Anybody getting their PFD is getting paid pretty doggone good."

This year's dividend should be around $900, the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. said.

Alaska juries are selected from among residents 18 and older who sign up for the dividend, Nesheim said. When their number comes up randomly for Juneau jury service, they are in the pool for one month. During that month they are supposed to call a phone number daily to see if they have been chosen for a jury selection.

Recent juror Wendy Porter said some of the people who don't show up may just forget to call.

"I think people have good intentions," she said.

Nesheim said the court does work with people. Those 70 and older aren't required to serve, and anyone can postpone jury service for up to nine months, he said, noting that many potential jurors have seasonal employment. A juror is not subject to jury service for the following 12 months, he added.

But when people simply don't show up, the judge needs to call more people to seat juries.

Superior Court cases generally require 14 jurors, including two who will be designated as alternates at the trial's end, he said. District Court trials generally require seven jurors, including one eventual alternate.

Doctors, teachers, lawyers and other professionals no longer have automatic excusals on request, Weeks said. State law now only provides that privilege to judges.

But Weeks said that when he was up as a potential juror in December, he felt it only fair that he go through the process. He called every day to see it he was being summoned, but he wasn't, he said.

Last week, Jim Clark, chief of staff for Gov. Frank Murkowski, was summoned. He said he was excused each of the three times he's been called as a prospective juror.

"Folks didn't want me to sit on the panel," he said.

Clark said while he was sitting in court, he thought about the work he could be doing.

"You do end up sitting there a long time," he said. But, he added, "It's a responsibility of all of us."

Weeks said it is important to get a cross section of the community on juries - "not just a bunch of state workers and retired people. Persons having their cases heard have a right to expect that some of the folks in the jury pool look like them."

Jurors who serve indicate on surveys that they had an educational experience, he said.

Morrell said he served on a complicated assault case.

"I had to sit in a chair for a week," he added.

When at the end he was chosen as one of the two alternates he was happy to get up and leave, but he also felt disappointed that he wasn't going to be involved in deliberations.

From the same jury, Porter said it wasn't easy to serve. She felt drained.

"You can't talk to anybody about it," she said.

Jurors went home at the end of the day, but she added, "You're kind of held captive because it's what your world is all about."

When it was over, there were some people who asked her how the jury could have voted for acquittal. She told them they weren't there.

"They didn't hear both sides," she said.

• Tony Carroll can be reached at tony.carroll@juneauempire.com.