Suit Revived over Jail Suicide Tied to Skipped Jury Duty

The estate of a woman jailed for skipping jury duty who starved to death can proceed with its suit, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held Aug 10.

Lyvita Gomes’s estate presented sufficient evidence that her death could have been caused by the jail’s doctors’ failure to act when she refused to eat or drink, the opinion by Chief Judge Diane P. Wood said.

Gomes was charged in 2012 in Lake County, Ill., with resisting arrest after police approached her for failing to show up for jury duty. She was jailed for failure to appear in court ...