Former US
president Barack Obama answered a jury summons Wednesday but was dismissed soon
after arriving at a Chicago courthouse to perform the civic duty as
ked of all
Americans.
As a
prospective juror, Obama joined fellow citizens at Cook County’s Daley Center
courthouse, all waiting to see if they would be chosen to serve on a trial.
The former
leader of the free world was the only juror to arrive by motorcade, however,
accompanied by tight security and met with a throng of news media and court
staff trying to snap a picture.
“He
gorgeous!” one court clerk exclaimed upon spotting the former president, the
Chicago Tribune reported. Potential juror Kelly Bulik told the newspaper she
felt like a “piece of melting butter” as she shook his hand.
Obama
thanked everyone for showing up, and was surprised by some who presented him
with copies of his books to sign.
“Thanks
everybody for serving on the jury. Or, at least being willing to,” he said to
laughter.
The former
law professor left by midday, along with a number of others who were randomly
selected for dismissal, according to the Tribune.
Before
heading to court, the former president tweeted in the morning about Tuesday
night’s high-profile state and mayoral election results seen as a sweeping
repudiation of the politics of his White House successor Donald Trump.
“This is
what happens when the people vote,” Obama wrote. “Every office in a democracy
counts!”
Obama is not
the first US president to show up for service that some Americans either dread
or find excuses to avoid. Obama’s predecessor in the White House, George W
Bush, responded to a jury summons in 2015.
Bush was not
selected to serve as a juror, but images of the smiling former president posing
with delighted citizens at the courthouse in Dallas, Texas quickly showed up on
social media.
Chicago has
some experience with high-profile jurors. In 2004, media titan Oprah Winfrey,
who at the time produced her talk show out of the midwestern city, was a juror
on a three-day murder trial ending in a conviction.
While the
Obamas currently live in Washington, the ex-president and first lady Michelle
Obama maintain a home in Chicago, the city where he got his political start.
The south
side of Chicago is also where the future Obama presidential centre will be
built, near the former leader’s home
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