Couple Avoids Jail Over Jury Questionnaire

FEBRUARY 19--A judge yesterday dropped contempt charges against a Pennsylvania couple who submitted a jury duty questionnaire filled with jokes, foul language, and other inappropriate statements.

The questionnaire was recently sent to Tina Keller, a 25-year-old Lackawanna County resident. But the form was actually filled out by Drayke Jacobs-Van-Tol, Keller’s 23-year-old boyfriend, who mailed the document back to court administrators.

Upon receipt of the questionnaire, a judge cited Keller for contempt and summoned her to a court hearing yesterday.

A repentant Keller told Judge Vito Geroulo that while she had signed the jury summons, Jacobs-Van-Tol (seen at right) had filled it out. The couple apologized for the submission, which Geroulo termed “intentionally disrespectful” and said could have landed them in jail for up to six months.

The two-page questionnaire includes about 40 questions, some of which required written answers. In response to the question “How many children do you have?,” Jacobs-Van-Tol wrote, “none survived the abortions.” Asked for a list of communities resided in during the past decade, he wrote, “The NSA knows everything. Ask them.”

Judge Geroulo was also likely incensed by the Jacobs-Van-Tol answer to a question about whether jury duty would cause undue hardship or extreme inconvenience. “If they don’t hang the guilty nigger I will get Panic Attacks,” he replied. (2 pages)

Geroulo yesterday allowed Keller, who was slated for jury duty on March 10, to submit a new questionnaire. (2 pages)