Jailed for 83 Days on Warrant for Skipping Jury Duty

Updated 4:12 PM EST, Sat, May 9, 2009

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A man arrested 12 weeks ago for allegedly failing to appear for jury duty has been released from the Collin County jail after spending 83 days behind bar.

A newspaper inquiry led to the release of Douglas Maupin, 34, who recently lived in Allen. Online court records show Maupin left jail Saturday, a day after The Dallas Morning News brought his plight to the attention of a Collin County judge.

Maupin was arrested Feb. 15 after police pulled him over for speeding and detained him on a 2003 warrant for failure to appear for jury duty. He could not pay his $1,500 bond, and said his attempt to get a public defender was rebuffed by a jail clerk.

The bond had to be paid in cash, and he didn't have the money, he told The Dallas Morning News. He said his mother is on a limited income, and he couldn't reach his friends, because their cell phones don't accept collect calls.

The jail clerk told him he couldn't have a public defender because the matter was a civil case, Maupin told newspaper, which reported the case is a felony.

Maupin wrote to the newspaper asking for help.

District Judge Chris Oldner, who released him, called Maupin's lengthy detention unacceptable and said he does not know why the man remained behind bars for so long.

Maupin told The Dallas Morning News that he had lost his dog, Daisy, all of his possessions and his rental home because of his lengthy jail time.

Oldner told the newspaper he is going to investigate how Maupin fell through the cracks.