HOUSTON -- When women get married, they often change their name and move. But something that's easily overlooked could come back to haunt them, KPRC Local 2 reported Monday.

A maiden name mistake took help from the Troubleshooters to fix.

As the mother of a small child, Jennifer Flesher had a legitimate excuse to get out of jury duty.

"I've been summoned three times in probably the last year," she said.

The summons are from Harris County, but Flesher does not live in Harris County. She has lived in Montgomery County for more than 10 years.

"I've already written a letter. I've done it three times so far. I've sent in the cards. I've called you. I've got on the Internet," she said.

She has spent hours over the past several years calling Harris County trying to fix the problem. Flesher is fed up.

"It's irritating. It's frustrating. I'm ready for it to end," she said.

The final straw was when she was ordered to appear at the Harris County courthouse to face a judge and explain why she was a no-show for jury duty. The possible penalty is up to a $1,000 fine and a warrant issued for her arrest.

"I can't explain why she wasn't handled properly," said Charles Bacarisse, Harris County district clerk.

He admitted that Flesher should not be on the county's jury list. He blamed the error on her maiden name.

"It's a lot harder for the ladies that get married and choose to take their new married name," Bacarisse said.

He believes that when she changed her name on her driver's license, the Texas Department of Public Safety never notified voter registration. That oversight kept her name on Harris County's list.

"We'll send that data over the to voter registrars and they'll get the change done now," Bacarisse said.

Flesher is grateful, but worried that she is not the only one to whom it has happened.

"How many other people are out there like me that don't know they're getting jury duty notices?" Flesher said.

After the Troubleshooters notified the clerk's office of the problem, officials assured the station that the mistake would be resolved immediately.

But they also want to encourage newlywed women to go in person to the voter registrar's office, as well as the driver's license bureau to make sure their name is changed properly.

For more information, call the Harris County Tax Office at (713) 368-2200.

Online Tools:

Voter Registration Name/Address Change
Voter Registration Application