Former President Barack Obama was rejected for jury duty in Chicago. He is the third former president rejected for jury duty.
Former President Barack Obama arrived for jury duty on Wednesday morning, only to have his panel rejected less than two hours later.
Obama pulled up to the Richard J. Daley Center courthouse in downtown Chicago just after 10 a.m. in a motorcade complete with a Secret Service detail, where he was quickly greeted by adoring fans, according to WXYZ. But after less than two hours at the courthouse, Obama was rejected and dismissed for the day, WGN9 reported.
Like all potential jurors in Cook County, where Chicago is located, Obama was paid $17.20 for his service, but the former president said he will donate the check to charity, according to WGN9.
In a video posted from the courthouse on Wednesday, Obama can be seen shaking other potential jurors’ hands.
Obama is the most recent former president to be called for jury duty, but not the only one. In 2015, former President George W. Bush showed up as a potential juror in Dallas, and in 2003 former President Bill Clinton also answered the call in New York City. However, like Obama, neither Clinton nor Bush was selected to sit on the jury in their respective proceedings.
In Chicago, several other celebrities have served on juries in recent years, including actor and wrestler Lawrence Tureaud, otherwise known as Mr. T, as well as TV host Oprah Winfrey. While Mr. T was rejected for jury service, Winfrey served on a jury that convicted a man for murder in 2004, according to WGN9.
