Jury Duty

Fasanthia Wilkerson considers herself patriotic, civic-minded and compassionate. That’s why she thought jury duty would be a good fit.

But her first time on a jury already has cost her almost $1,200 and could mean time in a jail cell.

"I felt it was an honor," Wilkerson said of being chosen to serve in court this past summer. "I felt by me being a Christian, I’d be balanced and fair."

Instead, Wilkerson, 48, has been saddled with a rare contempt-of-court sanction, repayment of court costs and stress-filled sleepless nights — all after she was accused of ignoring a Franklin County Municipal Court judge’s instructions, which resulted in a mistrial.

She’ll be back in court on Monday — this time to face her own charge.

Her attorney, Philip Lon Allen, hopes Wilkerson’s decision last week to repay the court costs will keep her out of jail: "I think she meant to do good and I don’t think she meant to do anything wrong."

The incident occurred in August, after Wilkerson was chosen for a jury in Judge Teresa L. Liston’s courtroom.

The jury was to determine whether a man had ignored Columbus police orders to pull over the rental car he was driving after they said he failed to signal a turn, squealed tires and drove recklessly.

James A. Mulick also was a juror on the case and said Liston wanted information relayed to jurors to be accurate and understood.

"I was impressed with the degree that she wanted us to be open-minded before we got our instructions," Mulick said.

Liston’s instructions when the jury got the case in August were direct: Make your decision based on the facts presented in the courtroom, apply the law as it is written and don’t talk about the case with anyone or conduct outside investigations.

Trial testimony had shown that the man was driving a relative to a motorcycle club just off Joyce Avenue when the incident with police happened.

Wilkerson, 48, says she was curious to see whether the club was Flames Motorcycle Club, because she had frequented it as a young woman.

So she said she drove past it on the way to her North Side home from her jury service, and again the next morning on her way back Downtown.

She said she didn’t stop, didn’t speak with anyone and didn’t take notes. "I just rode by there to see if it was in the same spot."

The next morning, after she mentioned the trip to her fellow jurors, one of them wrote Liston a note, as required of deliberating jurors who have questions.

"One juror drove last night and this morning by the Flames to confirm the location," the note read in part. "What is the proper course of action as far as the law states?"

Liston reviewed the note, quickly declared a mistrial, sent everyone home and found Wilkerson in contempt of court.

Columbus Assistant City Prosecutor Dave Peterson said he and others in the room were stunned.

"I was thinking, ‘Wow, I’ve never seen this happen before,’ " Peterson, a prosecutor for the city for five years, recalled. "I did not want to be in her shoes."

Tom Shields, Municipal Court’s jury commissioner, said he can’t recall a contempt order like this for jury misconduct in his 23 years in the job.

But he said he understands Liston’s logic.

"You have to take the responsibility very seriously and follow instructions," Shields said.

But Wilkerson said that Liston lectured her and other jurors after the court reporter had stopped taking notes.

"She embarrassed me so much. She said I totally defied her. She was so angry with me. It was almost like I personally insulted her," Wilkerson recalled. "But I didn’t understand anything. This was my first time in court. She didn’t even give me a chance to say I’m sorry."

Mulick agrees that Liston’s demeanor — "motherly" earlier — turned stern.

"She was trying to impress us with the importance of this breach of conduct. She was not mom anymore. She was an officer of the government who was very concerned about the integrity of the process."

Liston declined to discuss the incident pending the outcome of Wilkerson’s contemptof-court hearing next week.

Judges have a wide latitude of punishment they can dispense for such infractions, ranging from verbal reprimands to jail time.

Wilkerson has a steady job with Honda of America in Marysville and was able to pay the court costs.

But she questions how others like her would manage if they couldn’t afford it.

"They could be sitting in jail right now," she said.

Had she known that her actions would cost her so much — reimbursement of $740 for jurors’ fees and $458.46 in police witness costs — plus several hundred dollars in attorney’s fees — Wilkerson says she wouldn’t have done it.

"She (Liston) said ‘no outside investigation.’ But I didn’t think that meant driving by where that incident occurred," she said.

Wilkerson said she’s had difficulty sleeping since August and worries she still could face a jail sentence.

"This has been a nightmare."

dnarciso@dispatch.com