BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL) — When the 12 jurors and two alternates were chosen to decide the fate of Megan Boswell, they were committing to not only listening carefully to the testimony during the trial but to be sequestered for the entirety of the case.
Sullivan County Circuit Court Clerk Bobby Russell says the jurors are making a worthy sacrifice.
“That’s one way they can serve their country is to take their jury duty,” explained Russell. “And that is a very important service.”
The service is a personal cost to the jurors and to the county. Russell says it’s hard to know the exact price but estimates it will be thousands per day.
“We figure our motel will probably run around $1,600 a day, and on average, our jury meals run about $300 to $350 a meal. And that could be a little more than that. That’s just basically a lunch we also delivered. But there will be little extra expenses, and I’m sure more if they go out to eat,” Russell told News Channel 11.
The cost of sequestering a jury has risen over the years. News Channel 11 checked in with both Washington and Carter Counties, which had sequestered juries in the past. 15 years ago, when Washington County sequestered the jury for Howard Hawk Willis, court officials told News Channel 11 the estimated bill was about $2,500 a day, including hotel, food, juror pay and security.
Fast forward ten years to Carter County, where the county prepared to sequester a jury for Eric Azotea in 2020. Circuit Court Clerk Johnny Blakenship told News Channel 11 that the cost estimates for the same items were about $3,000 daily.
Russell says Sullivan County is prepared for the cost.
“The County has a line item for this,” explained Russell. We actually have money budgeted for this in our budget every year and then the state will also reimburse part of part of the expenses.”
One of the most significant expenses is for security. The sheriff’s office provides female and male deputies to keep the jurors secure and safe.
“They have a huge part in this. They are with them 24 hours a day; the whole time, there’ll be an officer with them in the court. When they leave they escorted them to their rooms. Officers will spend the night with them in separate rooms at the hotel. And then there’ll be a security detail at the motel,” Russell said.
Jurors are prohibited from watching local television, but they can stream movie channels, Russell said. All phone calls will be monitored.
The trial is expected to last several weeks.