Leading up to this past November's general election, Penn students signed up en masse to perform a time-honored American civil duty. But those who thought the duty in question was voting were only half correct.
While voting may have been the direct intent of young people registering for the first time, those who did so in Philadelphia also may have unknowingly put themselves in the city's pool of potential jurors.
Philadelphia voter-registration administrator Bob Lee explained that the state's jury selection commission collects the list of registered voters after registration is completed. At that point, he said, the voter lists are combined with names from the state's driver's license database.
The use of voter records for jury selection is nothing new, Lee said. It has been standard procedure since he began working in the voter-registration office more than 20 years ago.
"It used to be the only way they did it," he said.
Even though the practice has been in effect for some time, however, new voters are largely unaware of it.
Lee's office received 252,000 applications before the most recent election, many of them from young, first-time voters.
All new applicants could be among the 100,000 Philadelphians summoned each year to perform jury duty.
College freshman Amy Anekwe, a native of Connecticut who registered to vote in Philadelphia, was completely unaware of the practice but was not irritated by it after she found out.
While it might be a nuisance to serve, she said, it would also be rewarding to fulfill a civic duty.
For Anekwe and others on campus, though, it is possible to be excused due to academic commitments, as Engineering junior Ben Dodson found out.
After receiving his summons, he wrote back explaining that he was a student and was subsequently excused.
Anyone who thinks that there is no need to reply to the summons -- given that a student will likely be excused -- should probably reconsider, as citizens failing to respond can be held in contempt of court and fined.
There is some good news, though, for those who are not excused or who choose to serve.
"Jury Service," reads the Web site of Pennsylvania's First Judicial District, "is one of the highest duties of citizenship and it is an essential element of our democratic society."
The site goes on to explain that the experience provides "an interesting opportunity for citizens to learn more about our system of justice and how it works."
For the first three days, jurors also earn $9 per day.
