Local court leaders urge residents to respond to jury summonses as turnout drops

Court officials in Floridas 19th Judicial Circuit are warning people who ignore jury duty summonses that they could face fines and other legal consequences.The circuit serves Indian River, Martin, St. Lucie, and Okeechobee counties. Officials say low response rates are making it harder to select juries and can delay court proceedings.At a recent WPTV Lets Hear It meetup in Okeechobee, Jerald D. Bryant, clerk of circuit court and comptroller, spoke with WPTV reporter Brooke Chau about the problem.WATCH: Treasure Coast courts crack down on jury duty no-showsWe just ask one thing, and we don't ask you to do it often, but people just ignore them, Bryant said. The numbers illustrate the concern. In April 2026, 300 people were summoned for jury duty, but only 60 reported.That means just one in five people showed up.Bryant said a jury summons is a court order and ignoring it can have legal consequences.It is contempt of court because a jury summons is a court order to appear, Bryant said. Why