Numbered tokens are pulled from this box to determine who will receive a summons for jury duty. (CBC)

Some Charlottetown residents hunting for bargains this week were surprised by local deputy sheriffs who took them to the courthouse for jury duty.

It's an unusual situation, but when a panel selection comes up short of jurors, the court can empower the sheriff to simply go out into the street and recruit jurors. All Canadian citizens have a duty to serve on a jury if they are called to do so.

In Charlottetown this week, 56 people turned up at the courthouse as potential jurors. Their numbers had been drawn from a box, and they were sent a summons explaining their obligation, and what to expect when they presented themselves for jury duty.

Jurors can be excused for medical reasons, if it causes hardship, or if they know the accused, the lawyers, the judge or any of the witnesses. The lawyers filled 11 seats on the jury, but with all the exemptions, they ran out of prospective jurors.

So the court sent two deputies to a local mall and a coffee shop to round up some more prospects.

Staff are aware that being pulled off the street for jury duty can be a shock, says chief sheriff Ron Dowling. (CBC)

"It certainly would come as a shock to someone that's out going about their day-to-day business and all of a sudden they're being grouped up and taken back to the courthouse," said chief sheriff Ron Dowling.

A dozen people were rounded up and presented to the court as prospective jurors. Without the benefit of advance notice, the deputies did their best to explain what was happening.

"The people that are summonsed knew full well in advance what they were in store for," said Dowling.

"The staff are very cognizant of the stress that that would put people under and they go to great lengths to explain the process to them."

The court managed to fill the final spot from the 12, and the trial began.

But it didn't last long. On Tuesday, the Crown dropped the charge because it didn't think it had a good prospect of a conviction.

For those who were picked, their short term of duty means their names won't come up again for quite some time.