1. The first paragraph of a news article should answer the questions who, what, where and when. List the who, what, where and when of this news item. (NOTE: The remainder of a news article provides details on the why and/or how.)

2. What did Deandre Somerville do after he realized he overslept and missed jury duty?

3. a) Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the offense of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice and dignity of the court.
What is criminal contempt of court vs civil contempt of court?
b) What sentence did the judge give Mr. Somerville after he found him guilty of contempt of court?

4. For what reason did the judge give Mr. Somerville this sentence?

5. How did the judge reduce Mr. Somerville’s sentence on Friday?

6. Why is it important for jurors to act responsibly?

7. Following his experience, Somerville said he would tell people, ““Jury duty…is not stupid - it’s a civic duty.”

a) It was reported that the court held up the trial for almost an hour while trying to reach Mr. Somerville when he didn’t show up. But no news article explained why the court couldn’t reach him. (Did he see the phone calls and ignore them? Did they have his correct phone number? …) It’s not just that he overslept and they replaced him with a different juror. He had been approved by the plaintiff and defendant in the case. The court did not know why he was absent. There is court procedure that must be followed.
Do you think the judge ruled too harshly in sentencing 21-year-old Deandre Somerville to 10 days in jail, etc.? Explain your answer.

b) Would your answer to a) be different if Somerville was a 40 or 50 year-old man? Explain your answer. Should it be?

c) What lesson do you learn from Deandre Somerville’s story?