Look, no one really likes jury duty, but it's not really a good idea to lie your way out of it. Or to brag about doing so on the radio.
Susan Cole of Denver was arrested Thursday and is accused of faking PTSD to get out of jury duty. She allegedly showed up to court in clown makeup, a t-shirt, a dress skirt and reindeer socks. She was also wearing hair curlers and two different shoes.
Thinking the stunt was hilarious, she went on a local radio show to brag about the ruse. The presiding judge happened to be listening in.
And when that judge, Ann Mansfield, heard the story, she began looking through court records, according to the New York Daily News. According to transcripts, Mansfield asked the entire panel of jurors if anyone had a mental illness. "I got up and said, 'Yeah, I have mental issues,'" Susan Cole said in her radio confession, as reported by Denver's KUSA-TV:
Prosecutors apparently contacted Susan Cole last month, asking her for an explanation. Instead of providing investigators with a doctor's note confirming her diagnosis, ABC News reports she gave them a copy of her book. She's the proud author of Seven Initiations with El-Ways Secrets, which is about using the Bible to deal with "difficult relationships."
Susan Cole now faces felony charges of first-degree perjury and attempt to influence a public servant, reports the Daily News. Yep, it's illegal to mislead a judge into dismissing you from jury duty. In fact, each crime carries a hefty fine and up to six years in jail. How's that for funny?
Related Resources:
- Woman busted after bragging about avoiding jury duty (MSNBC)
- What if I am called for jury duty? (FindLaw)
- 9-Year-Old Gets Jury Duty Summons: 'What's a Jury Duty?' (FindLaw's Legal Grounds)
