The right to a trial by jury is the most important part of the American legal system. Without men and women, who are willing to sacrifice their time away from work, family and friends to render a verdict in a case, our justice system would not be the model that it is today. Jurors perform a valuable service for society. Getting people to serve is made more difficult when someone takes actions that scam potential jurors.

The Federal court system is warning people that, in different districts, citizens are being targeted by phone calls and emails, threatening them with prosecution for failing to comply with jury service in federal or state courts. Recipients of the juror phone and email scam are pressured to provide confidential data, including requests for Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, or any other sensitive information. Neither the Federal nor State courts request confidential data from prospective jurors in an insecure fashion like phone calls or emails. If you have received a phone call or email that you think is suspicious, you should not provide the requested information, and should notify the Clerk of Court’s office of the U.S. District Court in your area. Contact information for federal courts may be found through the U.S. Courts court locator.

At Kennedy, Kennedy, Robbins & Yarbro, LC, we are trial lawyers, seeking to protect the rights of our clients and to seek compensation for our clients when they have been wronged. Without jurors, we would be unable to do our part. Our legal system requires that someone determine the facts of a disputed case, and it is good and proper that twelve of our peers do so. Jurors have the ability to stand up for and enforce what is right and to compensate the harms suffered by individuals in the community. This is already a difficult job. It shouldn’t be made more difficult because of the fear of identity theft and other privacy concerns.