Hi All
Prompted by this BBC News Story about Michael Jackson receiving a jury summons, I was set to wondering if there had ever been any recorded cases of the rich and famous actually doing jury service. I should imagine that the majority quite easily get a deferment for work or residency reasons, but I’m sure there must be a few whose sense of public duty has led them to actually sit on a jury… Anyone got any examples?
OB
I seem to remember someone in the last couple of years who served and then did a few spots about the importance of civic duty and whatnot, but I can’t remember who it was.
In trying to find it though, I did run across this.
Oprah served last year. It was big news around here.
For background this site is useful.
Personally, if I was the accused, I’m not sure who I’d prefer on my jury…
And thanks Elret and don’t ask both for the link, although it still doesn’t give me names.
OB
L.A. Mayor Villaraigosa just did a stint recently. Jury service in L.A. is usually a short affair–one day or one trial.
It’s one day or one trial in Detroit, too. Is that not the norm?
In some places you may have to come for several days of nothing but voir dire rejections.
I’m not sure what the situation is in New York, as I’ve only ever been on standby. This is where you call a number every night for a week to find out if you have to show up the next day. I never had to actually show up though.
I don’t have a cite, sorry, but the tennis player Monica Seles was summoned for jury duty in Florida some years ago, shortly after she became a US citizen. She dutifully went and spent 2 days on a trial, even though, according to Sports Illustrated, it interfered somewhat with her preparations for that year’s Wimbledon. And good for her.
A friend of mine was on a jury with a local TV anchorwoman.
The jury voted her foreperson.