Donald Trump Reports for Jury Duty, Gets 'No Special Treatment'
— -- Although New York real estate mogul Donald Trump had to report for jury duty just like everybody else, it was no mundane ordeal, especially for fellow potential jurors.
The GOP presidential candidate had to take a break from campaigning and report for duty at Manhattan Supreme Court this morning. Trump just ended his weekend at the Iowa State Fair, where he held a media availability Saturday and said he "look[s] forward" to jury duty.
"I have jury duty, can you believe this? I look forward to it actually," Trump said. "I have no expectations. I just hope they're innocent. Whoever it is, I hope they're innocent."
Ultimately Trump was dismissed and not chosen for a case, but here's what happened when the Republican presidential candidate showed up for jury duty today:
Trump's Arrival
Arriving in a limo, Trump was greeted by a few hundred reporters. Trump’s limo driver for the past 27 years, Eddie Diaz, told ABC station WABC in New York, they arrived at court a few minutes late because there was” a little traffic on the FDR” Drive, but “other than that, it was great. We got down here in no time.”
As Trump walked from the limo and up the stairs of the courthouse, one reporter asked, “Are you ready?”
Trump responded, “I’m ready.”
Asked whether he was hoping to be selected, Trump said with a smile: "Not particularly. But we'll see what happens."
Several reporters asked him about his immigration plan, for which he released the specifics Sunday. "A wall will work," he kept repeating.
Before walking into the building, Trump turned around and waved to the crowd.
What Other Jurors Thought of Him
“It’s like winning the lottery, to come on Donald Trump Day,” Alex Hamburger, the 22-year-old juror who sat next to Trump this morning, told ABC News.
"He was a nice guy to speak to. I didn’t think he was going to speak to me. I asked what he was having for lunch, almost as a joke, because he’s just sitting there, everyone's quiet, no one’s speaking,” said Hamburger, who also told ABC News that he would not vote for Trump.
One juror was not so pleased about the chance Trump would be selected.
"God, I hope I'm not in the [same] box as him,” one of them told ABC News today. “I am as far away from him politically as I can get."
Another one was willing to withhold judgment: "I don't know, you gotta get to know the guy."
One potential fellow juror doubts The Donald will ever get a chance to find out: "I don't see [what's] the point of calling [Trump] in; they're never going to select him."
Inside the New York Supreme Court
Trump filed with his fellow New Yorkers into the jury room at 60 Centre St., the location featured on TV show “Law and Order.” Once inside, Trump first took a seat in the front row (his security detail sitting right behind him), then moved to the second to last row. Most New Yorkers inside ignored the Donald, though a couple did snap a few selfies with him. He was also asked by sketch artists Shirley and Andrea Shepard to sign two court sketches of himself.
As he walked back into the courtroom after a 10-minute break, one man yelled out “Save this country, will you?”
Trump's Likelihood He Would Have Been Picked
Trump waited all morning to see whether he got assigned to a case. According to Dennis Quirk, president of New York State Court Officers, the court picks names out at random.
Trump would have had to go to trial today if he was picked — however, there were only three criminal cases the court needed jurors for. Each case requires 12 jurors, plus 2 alternates— and Trump was one in a pool of about 150 people waiting to get assigned, so the odds of him getting picked were very slim.
Trump will not have to return for a second day. Though most jurors are asked to report for two full days of jury duty, new county clerk rules stipulate that anybody serving in August will be let go after just one day of service.
Quirk told ABC News there would be no special treatment for Donald Trump, though Trump did get what the court calls a “special response team” that is used for high profile cases, as “everyone has a right to their own privacy.”
“He’s doing his civic duty and he should be proud,” said David Bookstaver, spokesman for the New York State Unified Court System.
Well, Trump completed his civic duty and will not be called in again for another 6 years.
Where Trump Parked the Limo
Trump may have not gotten special treatment in the courthouse, but outside Trump was allowed to park his limo right out front in the “no stopping anytime” section.
