Bill Ward is pretty sure he won’t have a hard time getting out of jury duty.
Earlier this week, the longtime New Westminster resident received a jury summons, but he suspects he’ll never have to set foot in a court room.
“I just have to give them my age – when they see my age, they won’t want me anyhow. I am not interested. I am 98,” he said. “I’ve done it. I don’t need to again.”
According to the provincial government’s website, receiving a jury summons in the mail doesn’t mean someone has been selected to serve as a juror, as the next step is to go to a jury selection where jurors are chosen for a trial. Summons are mailed to people who are on the provincial voters list.
It’s the third time Ward has received a jury summons. Years ago, he served as a juror on a murder case.
“I was called up again, but they rejected me a couple years later,” he recalled. “The defence lawyer, he challenged me. Once they challenge you, you were out. I guess he thought I wouldn’t vote the way he wanted.”
Now, 98-and-a-half years old, Ward isn’t interested in jury duty at this point in his life.
“When I got the letter and saw it was from the ministry, I thought, what the heck have I done now?” he chuckled. “I don’t even known why they would send it to me. They must have a record of when I was a juror.”
