Stockton-Area Residents Begging Out Of Jury Duty On The Increase, Citing Fear Of Foreclosure, Job Loss

In San Joaquin County, California, the Stockton Record reports:

• [A}ttorneys who work at the downtown Stockton courthouse and rely on local residents to decide court cases say more potential jurors these days are begging out of their duty. They tell heartrending woes of losing their jobs and they fear home foreclosures. There is no hard data to directly corollate the slumping economy to a rise in juror hardships, yet national studies rank Stockton as Ground Zero for the mortgage crisis. This year, about 800 San Joaquin County homeowners each month received foreclosure notices. Attorneys describe jurors as the canary in the coal mine of the local economy, offering a glimpse into the tough times people are experiencing these days.

For more, see Tough time to fill S.J. juries (Officials say more asking out of service for financial reasons).