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11-Year-Old Boy Scout Summoned For Jury Duty

CHESTER COUNTY, Pa. (CBS/AP) — One Pennsylvania resident has been called to perform his civic duty a few years earlier than expected.

"I got summoned to jury duty," Luke says, with an unmistakable curiosity. "I'm only 11, so I didn't think I'd ever get it."

Luke was ordered to show up at the Chester County Courthouse on March 28 for jury selection.

Luke's mom, Jeanette Fox, went online and later called the county to alert them about the error.

The summons came with two pages of instructions and dress code recommendations, in addition to instructions that he bring a magazine to read — and even where to park his car, if he had one.

Luke wanted to serve as he thought a juror's work sounded interesting. Plus, he'd be off from school.

"They sit during the court case and listen to both sides of the story and they go into the back room, discuss it and take a vote on if the person is guilty or not," he reasoned.

A Chester County spokeswoman said nobody was available for an interview but told Eyewitness,  if minors receive a summons, they should check off the box requesting an exemption.

On the page of disqualifications, there actually isn't a check box for a minor, only for "student" or "hardship."

The error was eventually fixed, but Fox says her son was excited to go.

"I think he would've done a great job," she said. "I would have worried more about the content he was hearing."

Late Tuesday afternoon, Chester County sent Eyewitness News an explanation, saying the issue began with a state-provided list that included names of minors.

Sources in other Pennsylvania county governments say such lists are drawn from drivers licenses and voter databases, so it's unclear how any of this happened.

(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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