|
Jury's in: No Go for Letterman June 12, 2000 Despite his celebrity status, there's one group David Letterman can't join. The hopeful talk show host turned out for jury duty in his native Connecticut Friday but was axed after the two-and-a-half-hour orientation. Letterman had been waxing prophetic about jury duty on his CBS show for weeks. "Not only am I going to be on the jury, I want to run the jury," he cackled recently. Though the Late Show With David Letterman kingpin fulfilled his state-required duty just by showing up, he didn't even make it to the questioning part of the tryouts. According to the Associated Press, only one slot remained open on the jury in a car accident case, and someone was picked before Letterman's turn. After the session, the comic said that he was disappointed but had another plan. "Maybe I should commit a crime and go to jail and see how this works from the other end," he cracked. The plaintiff's lawyer in the case was not laughing. "You want people paying attention to the witnesses, not a fellow juror," said attorney Philip French. "You don't take a distraction and throw it into the case." Perhaps the humorless lawyer speaks the truth. Case in point: Judge William Hickey instantly recognized Letterman in his courtroom, and it wasn't because he's a fan of the late night show. "I had him once in here for speeding," Hickey stated. "He's a very nice man." |