Ex-President Barack Obama Shows up in Chicago for Jury Duty

[Siwsan]

What are the odds he will end up on a jury!?

By DON BABWIN, Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) — Former President Barack Obama, free of a job that forced him to move to Washington for eight years, showed up to a downtown Chicago courthouse for jury duty on Wednesday morning.

The 44th president's motorcade — considerably shorter than the one he had when he lived in the White House — left his home in the Kenwood neighborhood on the city's South Side and arrived at the Richard J. Daley Center shortly after 10 a.m.

Obama — wearing a dark sport coat, dress shirt, but without a tie — waved to people who gathered outside after hearing reports that he would be reporting for jury duty.

Whether he will be selected to sit on a jury, and presumably be selected jury foreman, was not known. But if he is like other would-be jurors, Obama will have to watch a decades-old video in which a much younger Lester Holt, who was a local news anchor before he became a national news anchor, explains the ins-and-outs of jury duty.

https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2017-11-08/ex-president-barack-obama-expected-in-chicago-for-jury-duty?src=usn_li

[MontanaMama]

1. Can you even imagine

being seated on a jury with PBO? What a trip!!

[unblock]

3. i can't imagine him getting seated.

but it would be cool to hang with him in the jury waiting area!

[MontanaMama]

13. I can't either but

it is fun to imagine it. Bet he had fun today...

[pintobean]

8. I would refuse.

It would be too much of a distraction to the process. How other jurors feel about him could interfere with their decision making.

Meeting him would definitely be a trip, though.

[irisblue]

2. Ex Constitutional Law Professor will never get chosen.

He will get the $17.20 remuneration though.

[unblock]

4. daaamn! i think i got $5.

[irisblue]

6. Chicago is a big city, how big was yours?

My moms' name was right above mine on the voter rolls for 7 years, she got called twice, I never did. Luck of the draw.

[unblock]

7. central new jersey suburban sprawl.

that was about 10 years ago.

mrs. unblock just did her two days of waiting to get rejected, here in connecticut, i think she got $20.

[padah513]

9. Same here for one day of service

I didn't even bother to cash the check. Keeping it as a memento.

[LisaM]

5. As qualified as he is (I think he'd be great), he'd be a distraction.

He'd also probably make the participants nervous, from defendant to judge.

The only way he could do it would be anonymously.

[True Dough]

10. Definitely!

I would find myself watching his reactions as a fellow juror and I'd be preoccupied pondering what question I'd ask him if I got the opportunity to ask him one at some point. The trial would be secondary.

[LisaM]

12. And I would probably be more swayed by him than listening to the evidence and deciding for myself.

On the other hand, his showing up is important, because it's encouraging to people who think it's a waste of time.

[Not Ruth]

11. I would be thrilled to be on a jury with him