Nearly 300 residents were turned away after showing up for jury duty on Monday. Court officials said the jury room couldn't hold all of the respondents.
Long lines formed at 8 p.m. about the Fulton County Courthouse as prospective jurors arrived. It took nearly 30 minutes for residents just to get inside.
Court officials said that several hundred more people than normal were summoned for jury duty because they were using a new procedure for jury call lists.
On a normal Monday, around 1,000 are called for duty and around 300 typically report. On October 1, more than 2,000 people were called and 599 reported – about double what was required for court duty.
Fulton County Court Administrator Yolanda Lewis dismissed more than 200 citizens at lunchtime.
"We definitely didn't want to inconvenience anyone but it was just necessary because we didn't know how the list was going to work today," said Lewis.
Citizens said that while rooms were crowded, most people were civil.
Officials remind residents that people that don't report for jury duty are subject to a fine and possible jail time.
Sunday, May 19 2013 2:00 PM EDT2013-05-19 18:00:39 GMT
President Barack Obama addressed a crowd of soggy graduates and guests at Morehouse College's spring commencement ceremony on Sunday.
President Barack Obama addressed a crowd of soggy graduates and guests at Morehouse College's spring commencement ceremony on Sunday, telling graduates to take the power of their example-- as black men graduating from college-- and use it to improve people's lives.
Sunday, May 19 2013 1:53 PM EDT2013-05-19 17:53:40 GMT
President Barack Obama addressed graduates at Morehouse College's commencement ceremony in Atlanta on Sunday.
President Barack Obama addressed graduates at Morehouse College's commencement ceremony in Atlanta on Sunday, marking the first time a sitting president has made a commencement address in Georgia since 1938. See photos from his visit to Atlanta here!
Saturday, May 18 2013 10:09 PM EDT2013-05-19 02:09:05 GMT
They say you can't win if you don't play, and thousands of people are. The jackpot for Saturday night's Powerball drawing is an estimated $600 million, giving many a bad case of lottery fever.
They say you can't win if you don't play, and thousands of people are. The jackpot for Saturday night's Powerball drawing is an estimated $600 million, giving many a bad case of lottery fever.
Nearly 300 residents were turned away after showing up for jury duty on Monday.
