Actor Brad Pitt
dutifully arrived at the downtown Los Angeles courthouse on Friday after he was
summoned to jury duty.
But after waiting
several hours to be questioned he was told he wouldn’t have to serve because
his presence on a jury would be too distracting, reports the Daily Mail.
“You just can’t stick
Brad Pitt in a jury box and expect 11 jurors to ignore him,” attorney William
Lively of Santa Monica told the newspaper when asked for his thoughts about
celebrity jury service. “It’s only natural that those jurors would be watching
to see how Brad reacts to what’s being said and that they could be influenced
by his opinions once the jury goes behind closed doors to render a verdict.”
He said it is common
practice to dismiss a major celebrity who shows up in response to a jury
summons.
That didn’t happen
last year, when Tom Hanks wound up on a jury hearing a domestic violence case.
However, that case quickly concluded in a favorable plea deal for the defendant
after a recent law graduate working as a volunteer for the Los Angeles district
attorney’s office approached Hanks in a stairwell to compliment him on his
civic spirit. (Source: http://www.abajournal.com)
.jpg)
