By Ellen G. Lahr
Berkshire Eagle Staff
System seems anxious to have tot sit in judgment
PITTSFIELD -- Perhaps there are too many people in Berkshire County's jury pool who are tennis partners with the judge, in-laws of the defendant or bowling buddies of the prosecutor.
Or maybe prospective jurors around here fall short in the required qualities of good citizenship, fair-mindedness and respect for the U.S. Constitution. Perhaps they are just not cute enough.
Perhaps that's why the powers-that-be in Boston have, for the second time, summoned 3-year-old Emilee Nicholas to show up for jury duty next week.
It won't be the first time the preschooler has received official correspondence requiring her to do her civic duty. Last year, before she turned 2, Emilee was called for jury duty. If she didn't show up, she was warned, she could be subject to a $2,000 fine.
Emilee has grown up in the past year, but not that much. She isn't yet schooled in constitutional issues, such as those guaranteeing a defendant's right to a fair trial and the concept of "innocent until proven guilty."
Nevertheless, Emilee was summoned again in a July 30, 1998, notice, according to her mother, Rebecca Wilcox. Wilcox, herself a good sport about the whole mishap, said she's had no shortage of laughs from this second mix-up.
Wilcox said when the most recent summons came in the mail, she filled in the blanks that ask for Emilee's birth date and whether she had ever been convicted of a crime (no). Wilcox also scrawled a note, "She's only 3!" on the form and sent it back to the state jury commissioner.
Normally people who are under 18 only have to fill out the form indicating a birth date and send it back, but that didn't work this time.
"We got back another note telling her she had to appear in court on Nov. 30 at 8 a.m.," she said. "I guess I have to bring her to court. I guess we'll be there."
No correction made
Last year, when Emilee was summoned for jury duty, the state's jury outreach coordinator said such mix-ups are common when birth date information is mistakenly omitted from census information provided by cities and towns. Last year, Emilee didn't have to show up.
But apparently Emilee's census information never got corrected after last year's mistake. And that's apparently why she got summoned again.
According to the state's deputy jury commissioner, Brian McNally, for the statewide computer database of 4.5 million prospective jurors, names are culled from city and town census documents across the state -- no longer from the lists of registered voters. While the jury pool list correctly names Emilee Nicholas as a resident of 6 Christopher Arms, the birth date listed for her is April 15, 1960, which means she would be 38 years old, older than her own mother.
Emilee's actual birth date is July 8, 1995.
"Possibly the child was assigned the parent's birth date," said McNally. "It happens very frequently."
But Rebecca Wilcox said the birth date the state lists for Emilee is a mystery and has no connection to her family. Wilcox said her own birthday is Sept. 24, and Emilee's father's birthday is Aug. 13.
McNally also said the state jury commission has all manner of incorrect information: dogs, cats, buildings and children are regularly summoned to appear for jury duty.
"We don't have any right to change any information that comes in to us," he said. "If a date of birth and occupation comes to us we can't do anything but assume that the person is a legitimate candidate for jury duty."
He said if Wilcox had mailed back the July 30 form indicating her daughter's correct age, the jury commissioner's office didn't receive it. Normally such returned forms are scanned into a computer, and the computer shows no record of the state receiving Emilee's jury form.
"It hasn't arrived here yet," he said.
"I know I mailed it," said Wilcox yesterday.
If Emilee's date of birth is corrected on the Pittsfield city census, McNally said, "This won't happen again."
First, however, Emilee will appear in court next Monday at 8 a.m., with her birth certificate in one little fist and her mother's hand in the other.