Update (October 8, 2019): Judge John Kastrenakes vacated the punishment he gave Deandre Somerville for missing jury duty.

Kastrenakes changed his mind following the widespread coverage of Somerville’s plight, according to CBS12. The judge determined the 21-year-old is a “respectful young man,” and that he “now understands and respects our system of justice.”

“Given the abundant publicity surrounding Mr. Somerville’s case, I have concluded that the importance of a sworn juror abiding by the law has been made clear,” Kastrenakes wrote in his order. “Therefore, there exists no reason to continue Mr. Somerville on probation.”

Somerville had to spend 10 days in jail after he overslept and missed jury duty on August 21. Kastrenakes also sentenced him to a year of probation and 150 hours of community service.

Before the reversal, Kastrenakes reduced Somerville’s probation from one year to three months last Friday. He also determined he would not find Somerville guilty for a misdemeanor.

The only requirement Somerville must honor is 30 hours of community service. The young man is relieved.

“I will have a statement for tomorrow but on a good note I’m happy my charges were dropped n that there is a god and he is real thank you,” he told The Sun-Sentinel in a text message on Monday.

Daniel Eisinger, Somerville’s lawyer, said his client remains shaken by the 10 days he spent in jail.

“That 10 days in jail was pretty shocking and scary for him," Eisinger said. “We’re going to proceed with getting his record completely expunged now that the case is over.”

Original: For 10 days, 21-year-old Deandre Somerville was trapped in a nightmare after being sentenced to jail for oversleeping for jury duty.

The South Florida man, who works at an after-school program in West Palm Beach, was given jail time, one year of probation and 150 hours of community service after missing his jury service on August 21.

According to the Sun-Sentinel, this was Somerville’s first summons for jury duty and his first time ever being at a courthouse or courtroom. Upon arrival and after a lengthy wait, he said he was selected to serve as a juror on a civil case and was asked to return the next day at 9 a.m.

However, he missed his alarm, woke up around 11 a.m. and figured that since it was almost time to go to his afternoon job, he wouldn’t have to go to the courthouse or call court officials.

“At work, I was looking on my phone thinking, ‘What’s the worst case scenario that could happen?’” he recalled during a phone interview with Sun-Sentinel. “I thought maybe I would get a fine or something like that.”

Somerville, who lives with his grandparents, said he was out playing basketball when his grandmother called and said a police officer was at their door with a court summons.

“My grandfather said, ‘Just go in and be honest,’” he said.

Somerville helps to take care of his grandfather, who recently had surgery and has difficulty walking.

“I’ve never had a criminal background, never been arrested, never been in handcuffs," he said. "The most I’ve ever gotten was a traffic ticket so I was thinking it wouldn’t be that bad.”

When he arrived in court, Judge John Kastrenakes said the 21-year-old’s negligence delayed the court by 45 minutes. Afterward, Somerville was sent directly to jail for 10 days.

“Now I have a record. I almost feel like a criminal now. Now, I have to explain this in every interview,” Somerville said.

He added that his public defender will try to scale back his probation sentence, which he described as “excessive” during the South Florida man’s hearing on Friday.

“This is going to show others you have to take this very seriously, but this 21-year-old with no prior record now has a misdemeanor conviction,” WPTV’s criminal analyst Michelle Suskauer said. “Could there have been other alternatives to be more instructive and less punitive? It's possible.”

Somerville was also ordered to write a letter of apology to the parties involved in the civil case he was asked to serve on. He says the sentence could have been worse. Somerville wants to go to school to become a firefighter someday.

Jail-Time

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