LAS VEGAS - Carol Bilodeau was in no mood to receive a jury summons in the mail.
"I was sick actually, had the flu and went out to get the mail," she said. "I looked at it and said, ‘Oh rats, jury summons for me.'"
So she thought, then she looked more closely at the letter.
"When I flipped it over and saw my husband's name, I went, ‘Hmmm, that's kind of funny. He's dead,'" she said.
Normand Bilodeau passed away six years ago. Carol wanted to know what to do. She feared this would happen. "They issue a bench warrant, and I can hand them his urn when they walk to the door," she said.
While humorous to her at first, the summons eventually tugged at her heart strings. Carol once again had to face the reality she's living without the love of her life and remember the awful day he died - March 1, 2007.
"I wasn't expecting anything. The worse part was calling his daughter, my daughter, and telling her about her father. That absolutely floored me," she said.
Stunned and saddened, Carol reached out to 8 on Your Side which helped her contact Clark County to fix the problem.
It isn't difficult, but it is time consuming. Call the number on the jury summons and listen to a long recording until you get to a real person. The county will immediately update its records to ensure your dead loved one doesn't receive another jury summons.
"When I did talk to them, I got a hold of a very nice lady, and she was very apologetic," Carol said.
Carol's husband shouldn't be summoned again. She says she hopes her story helps others, so this won't happen to someone else.
"I was laughing, but to some people, it could have been extremely upsetting," she said.
This week, Clark County District Court will test new software to make it easier for people to speak to county workers if they need to be dismissed from jury duty - particularly in cases in which the person summoned may be deceased.
In Clark County, jury summons are picked in a couple of ways. They can come from NV Energy accounts or the DMV. You can prevent a deceased family member from being called by ensuring they are no longer listed on your NV Energy bill.
If you have a problem you want 8 on Your Side to investigate, call the 8 on Your Side hotline at 702-650-1907.
