Berkeley man fined after being too busy for jury duty

MARTINSBURG - A Berkeley County man has been fined $1,000 after saying he was too busy to show up for jury duty.

The man was one of more than 40 people in a jury pool summoned for jury selection during the murder trial of 22-year-old Thomas Anthony Dawson. When half of the jury pool either failed to show up, or where late, court officials tried to located as many assent or tardy jurors as possible.

"One person, one guy that was called in the first day said he was just too busy," Berkeley County Circuit Court Judge David Sanders told the Martinsburg Journal.

The man failed to answer summons to appear in court for more than a week, than explained he worked out of the area.

Sanders said he had to call those who did not fulfill their jury obligations into court, to honor and respect those who did.