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QC01122017

26 THE QUEENS COURIER • PERSON OF THE YEAR • JANUARY 12, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM person of the year but certainly I feel there should be every ethnicity represented, and the only way that can be done is by working within the jury system.” Th e fi rst step in working with the jury system is getting Queens residents to fi ll out the jury questionnaire. Th e questionnaire is sent out to everyone who is registered with either the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Board of Elections, the Tax Department, Social Service Department or the Unemployment Department. “So basically, if you’re alive, you’re on one of those lists,” Pheff er said. Th e questionnaire determines if a resident is qualifi ed to serve jury duty. If a person is deemed qualifi ed, their name is entered into a larger jury pool where potential jurors can be brought in for questioning. “Th e pool has got to be representative of the people in Queens,” she added. “It wasn’t, and it isn’t still, equally. But it’s much better.” In the end, Pheff er admits, the juror selection process is still random, but by bringing a more diverse group of people into the jury pool, there is a bigger chance for a diverse jury to sit on any given case. Th e problem, Pheff er said, is getting people to answer the questionnaire. In order to bring more people into the jury pool and have them return the questionnaire, Pheff er has been going to diff erent groups and organizations Joann Shapiro, Fred kohlreiter, Audrey Pheff er, Jeremy S. Weinstein, Moses Weinstein and Walter Ward. across the city to try and get more people involved. Another way Pheff er is trying to get more people into the jury pool is by handing out harsher penalties — such as a $1,000 fi ne — for those who repeatedly do not respond to the questionnaire. Th en there is the problem of people responding to the questionnaire, but they do not show up when they are selected. Th ese people are given several chances to come down to the courthouse to be vetted for jury duty, and if they do not appear, fi nes and lien can be given to them. In the most extreme cases, people who never respond are forced to go in front of a judge and pick a date on which they can come to serve. “You don’t have to vote,” Pheff er said. “But the law demands that you serve jury duty.” Then-Assemblywoman Pheff er is shown at her 1987 inauguration with daughter (and future Assemblywoman) Stacey Pheff er Amato and son Mitchell Pheff er. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 25 Congratulations to my friend Audrey Pheffer for being honored as the Queens Courier’s Person of the Year 2017 Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr. 66-85 73rd Place Middle Village, N.Y. 11379 (718) 497-1630 (718) 497-1761-FAX 159-53 102nd Street Howard Beach, N.Y. 11414 (718) 738-1111 (718) 322-5760 – FAX New York State Senator District 15 Member of the Senate Labor and Civil Service & Pension Committees


QC01122017
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