Trump campaign takes break for N. Y. C. jury duty
U. S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump took a break Monday from courting voters to go to court as a potential juror.
Trump shook hands and fistbumped bystanders as he reported for jury duty at a Manhattan court, arriving in a limousine.
“The wall will work,” he declared Monday when asked about an element of his immigration platform: making Mexico pay for a permanent border wall.
Flanked by a crush of cameras and reporters as he walked up the courthouse steps — and paused to wave at the top — Trump waited in a security line before going to the jury room. The 75 or more potential jurors greeted him with murmurs. A court officer escorted him to a seat in the front row.
Dennis Quirk, president of the court officers union, said a special team of uniformed and plainclothes officers was brought in to help handle the media presence while ensuring all regular posts were covered. Quirk said that was standard for any high- profile person.
Trump arrived in time to catch the end of an instructional video about jury duty basics.
He filled out a juror questionnaire asking about biographical basics, occupation, hobbies, experiences with crime and courts and whether he is “actively involved in any civil, social, union, professional or other organizations.”
Jury assembly supervisor Irene Laracuenta told the possible jurors their commitment would be either one day or one civil trial, depending on whether they were selected.
“No one — no one — gets special treatment,” Laracuenta said.
If Trump wasn’t picked for a jury by the end of Monday, he would be exempt from jury duty for the next six years. Jurors who do get chosen are told to expect to sit for at least one week, but trials can last for months.
Later in the morning, four uniformed court officers guarded the entrance to a hallway as Trump took a 20- minute breather to talk on his phone in the hall. While returning to the jury assembly room, he took a selfie with a lawyer he encountered and signed a sketch artist’s drawing. “Beautiful,” he said. The GOP front- runner said last week he was “looking forward to appearing” for jury duty.
The real- estate mogul and reality TV star has been called previously, but did not appear. A spokesman has said Trump never got the summonses because they had been sent to the wrong address.
Over the years, many celebrities — including Madonna, Spike Lee and Woody Allen — have been called for jury duty in New York. Indeed, Saturday Night Live cast member Bobby Moynihan was in the jury pool with Trump Monday.
While it was once de rigueur for doctors, lawyers, various other professionals and elected officials to get out of jury duty, the state eliminated their exemptions in 1996.