A Missouri Court has upheld the practice of allowing individuals selected for jury duty to avoid serving by paying a fine and performing community service. In State v. Ryan Ferguson, a state trial court allowed 13 of the possible 848 potential jurors in the case to opt out of jury service in exchange for paying $50 and performing community service. The local public defender challenged this policy arguing that it violated the defendant's 6th Amendment right to a jury made up of a cross-section of the public. However, the judge who heard the defendant's appeal determined that allowing 13 potential jurors to perform community service did not prevent a random sample of jurors from being selected nor was it a substantial failure as defined by the state statute on jury selection.
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