For some, serving on the jury in this trial will be the exciting opportunity of a lifetime. For others, it will be a tiresome chore.
Three jurors have already been selected, but six more have already been sent home with a county check for $17.20 in their back pockets.
If you really, really don’t want to serve on the jury, here’s five tried and tested responses that have already seen potential jurors bounced from this case.
1. Suggest that you’re more likely to acquit a celebrity than a regular member of the public. This got a balding man in his 50s excused, even though he seemed to want in.
2. Admit that possibly, maybe, you might just have an issue with race. A white mother whose child was threatened by her non-white ex-boyfriend was dismissed after she said the incident might affect her ability to give Kelly a fair trial.
3. Explain, unprompted, that you consider gangbangers to be "terrorists," then tell the judge that "If that's R. Kelly on that tape, he's got some explaining to do." This got a former Thornton firefighter bumped.
4. Have a criminal record for assault and a couple of DUIs. One guy with this background was rejected without any further questioning.
5. Have religious beliefs that prevent you from "sitting in judgement" of Kelly. A Jehovah's Witness was quickly excused this morning.
Here's what won't get you kicked off the jury:
1. Telling the judge you consider R. Kelly guilty, based on what you've already read, as long as you're prepared to put that aside.
2. Arguing that your career will be damaged if you have to take four weeks off work. The judge seemed unimpressed.
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