jury duty will be dealt with seriously.

Assistant Justice Philip Storr handed down a $150 fine to Gregory Dietz, 40, for failing to appear for jury duty in early late July.

The Devon Springs resident Dietz, said he was not able to appear because he could not take time away from work.

"I have been extremely busy at work,'' he explained. "I have guys that are out on vacation when they should not be, but I simply forgot and remembered at a later date.'' But Mr. Justice Storr said it had become a familiar practice for people to miss jury duty and he warned he would not object to harsher penalties in the future.

"On the last three or certainly four occasions there have been at least one or two jurors missing,'' he said. "It's very important that in a small country like Bermuda that people have got to do their jury service.

"It's very difficult to get jurors and it's very important that they appear.

The message has got to be sent. There will come a time when I will deal with it more seriously.''