The decide peppered the well-known bearded comic, recognized in court docket solely as “Juror 16,” with questions simply as he did three dozen different potential jurors.
NEW YORK — The longtime host of “The Late Present with David Letterman” discovered himself answering questions quite than asking them when a federal decide in New York Metropolis put the entertainer via an audition of types on Monday for a potential position as a juror in a prison trial.
It was the intense setting of a prison trial over a cryptocurrency fraud when Choose P. Kevin Castel confronted the well-known bearded comic, recognized in court docket solely as “Juror 16,” with questions simply as he did three dozen different potential jurors to find out who could be on a panel of 12 jurors and 4 alternates.
The possible jurors had already survived a basic spherical of questioning wherein people are dismissed for hardship causes, reminiscent of medical points or jobs from which they can’t be spared. The trial is predicted to final lower than two weeks.
When Letterman, who stepped down from his present in 2015, made it to what may very well be the ultimate spherical for admittance on the jury, the decide lobbed a softball: “The place do you reside?”
“Hartford,” Letterman responded, proving that he could not make it via a single phrase with out delivering a joke.
“No, it is a joke,” Letterman shortly let the decide know. Hartford is in Connecticut, which might have disqualified him from the jury as a result of it’s exterior the world the place jurors are drawn from.
“Good strive,” the decide responded, including, “You figured you’ll forgo Queens,” one other location exterior the world coated by the Southern District of New York. Queens is situated within the Japanese District of New York.
After Letterman revealed his true space of residence — Westchester County — the pair started a volley of questions and solutions totaling practically three dozen exchanges.
Alongside the best way, the decide, attorneys and three dozen or so potential jurors realized loads that the world already is aware of about Letterman. He was born in Indianapolis, obtained a level from Ball State College in Muncie, Indiana, and has a 20-year-old son in faculty in Massachusetts.
Requested what he does for a dwelling, Letterman stated he was presently “working for a corporation referred to as Netflix.”
“Partner or important different?” Castel requested.
“I’ve had each. At the moment I simply have the partner,” Letterman responded.
Requested how he will get his information, Letterman gave a nod to the previous, saying: “Each morning I used to choose up the paper off the entrance porch. Now, I activate the pc and it is an aggregation of reports sources from all around the United States and world wide.”
Requested what he likes to look at apart from any Netflix packages he is concerned with, Letterman stated, “I like sports activities.”
“I am glad soccer is right here. I am glad it is this time within the baseball season. I like motor sports activities. I like just about what most People watch on TV,” he stated.
The decide requested him if he is an Indianapolis Colts soccer fan.
“Large Colts fan. 0 and a pair of, however nonetheless a fan,” he stated, referring to the truth that the Colts have misplaced their first two video games this season.
For hobbies, Letterman stated he likes to fish, ski and be open air.
“Ever referred to as as a juror?” the decide requested.
“Been referred to as many occasions. Simply could not make it occur,” Letterman answered.
“You recognize, this can be the allure,” Castel stated, conscious that Letterman had a 50-50 likelihood to make it onto the panel.
“It might be a pleasure,” Letterman stated.
Ultimately, shortly earlier than the jury was sworn in, Letterman was ejected when a prosecutor exercised what is named a “strike,” which permits attorneys on both aspect to launch a sure variety of potential jurors from the panel for any purpose in any respect. It was the third of 4 strikes exercised by prosecutors. No purpose was given.
