Best Way to Get Out of Jury Duty? Tell the Judge You've Got an Audition for 'Law & Order'

A Brooklyn judge delays an attempted murder trial so a juror can audition for a "Law & Order" spinoff show....

We’ve written countless times about the ways that people have tried to get out of jury duty. While some of them have managed to shirk their civic duties, others have been less successful.

In rare (unpublicized) cases, potential jurors have been more than willing to serve their time. But sometimes, real-life courtroom drama meets with television drama featuring plots ripped straight from the headlines — and that’s where things get messy.

But not in this judge’s courtroom….

In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups: the police, who investigate crime; and the district attorneys, who prosecute the offenders. In a time where there’s a television drama for almost every profession in the world, the police, the district attorneys, and even the offenders need to be played by moderately competent actors.

As luck would have it, last week, Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Wayne Ozzi was faced with a unique juror scheduling conflict: an audition for a role in “Law & Order.” From the New York Daily News:

Opening arguments in the attempted-murder trial of Robert Morales were pushed back by five hours to accommodate Juror No. 6, who got an unexpected casting call for a part in a spinoff of the now-defunct hit crime show.

“If it was anything else, I wouldn’t even have brought it up,” the tall, black-haired man, who also owns a production company, told a Brooklyn Supreme Court judge.

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According to the New York Post, Ozzi wished Juror No. 6 well: “Good luck. We’ll be looking for you on TV.”

Note how the various articles on Juror No. 6’s audition fail to mention which spinoff show he’ll be appearing on. The only Law & Order series that’s still on prime-time TV is Special Victims Unit. That said, we hope this juror’s story has a happy ending — one that doesn’t result in a role as a rapist or a child toucher, because that would be “especially heinous.”

Trial delayed to let juror audition for “Law and Order” [New York Daily News]
Juror’s audition for ‘Law and Order’ delays B’klyn attempted murder trial [New York Post]
Judge Postpones Attempted Murder Trial So Juror Can Attend ‘Law & Order’ Tryout [ABA Journal]

Earlier: How (Not) To Get Out of Jury Duty
When an ‘Innocent’ Attempt to Avoid Jury Duty Goes Horribly Wrong
New Way To Get Out of Jury Duty: Order Lots and Lots of Food

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