Even Former President Barack Obama Has To Attend Jury Duty

Even though he was previously President of the United States Barack Obama still has to attend jury duty just like the rest of us.

READ: Mississippi Elementary School Named After Confederate President To Be Renamed After Barack Obama

In a report from NPR, Obama will serve in November in Illinois's Cook County, which requires residents to do jury duty once a year.

"He's a great citizen of his city and this county," Cook County Chief Judge Tim Evans said. "We're happy that he recognizes his responsibility as a citizen to serve just as anybody else would."

However, Obama actually has not been selected as a juror yet. He could potentially be disqualified from serving by the judge or removed from the jury pool by the lawyers on each side. Obama is considered a "high-impact" juror because of his prior position.

"Most jury consultants really recommend against sitting someone who, in a deliberation room, is going to have a really out-sized voice," attorney Aaron Katz said. "But if I'm feeling either really good about my case or really bad about my case, I might actually want a high-impact juror like Obama on my jury, because I know I can tailor my arguments to that one juror, hoping that he or she can carry the day."

If selected, Obama would receive $17.25 per day, just like the average American citizen serving.

Recently, Davis IB, an elementary school in Jackson, Mississippi named after Confederate President Jefferson Davis, was renamed after Obama.

"Jefferson Davis, although infamous in his own right, would probably not be too happy about a diverse school promoting the education of the very individuals he fought to keep enslaved being named after him," Janelle Jefferson, president of the school’s PTA, said in a statement.

Jefferson added that the school community wanted to rename the campus "to reflect a person who fully represents ideals and public stances consistent with what we want our children to believe about themselves."

Source: npr.org