The chief financial officer of wealth management company Powerwrap could be jailed for failing to attend jury duty, a court has heard.
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Supreme Court Justice Jack Forrest found Sean Slattery, the CFO of Powerwrap Ltd, guilty of failing to attend jury service on Wednesday.
The maximum penalty for failing to comply with a summons for jury service is three months' imprisonment or a $4300 fine.
Mr Slattery unsuccessfully applied for his jury service to be deferred last year, two days before he was due to appear in court on October 12, the court heard.
The deputy juries commissioner refused to defer his service, as he had previously been granted a deferral earlier in the year because of his work.
He then told the deputy commissioner by phone he would not be attending court, citing work commitments.
Mr Slattery, who represented himself, told the court on Wednesday he had a number of meetings scheduled in the CBD with potential investors on the day he was due to attend jury service, ahead of an initial public offering for the company.
He said these were not "ordinary meetings".
He said he had performed jury duty before, and did not take it lightly.
Justice Forrest questioned how missing investor meetings to serve on a jury differed from a plumber missing jobs to perform the civic function, remarking that the executive had decided the meetings "trumped" his duty to attend court.
"You seem to be happy to attend [court for jury service] on your own terms," the judge said.
Justice Forrest ruled the meetings were not a "reasonable excuse" for missing jury duty, saying Mr Slattery had been given notice that the court could require his attendance for up to 10 days.
Many people put aside work commitments to serve on juries, the judge said.
"The [jury system] cannot operate on the whims of commercial interests.
"A fundamental requirement in a democratic society is that members of the public participate in jury service."
The judge said he could consider imprisoning Mr Slattery, and offered him some time before deciding what penalty to impose, to ensure he had an opportunity to prepare his case.
Mr Slattery will appear in court for his penalty hearing on Monday.
