There aren’t many people who are overly fond of jury duty. People are called all the time to do their civic duty and sit on the jury for a criminal case, and like getting drafted, or going out for dinner with the in-laws, there’s always going to be people who try and scam their way out of it.
One Ohio prospective juror had an excuse that’s definitely one-of-a-kind.
John Backderf was called for jury duty in Cleveland last week. During the screening process, Backderf was asked this question: “Has anyone you know ever been convicted of a crime?”
His response was astounding. Backderf told the judge, “I had a close friend in high school who killed 17 people.” His response caused a few of the lawyers present to drop their pens, and left the judge speechless.
Backderf went on to explain the nature of his relationship with Jeffrey Dahmer to the litigators present at the screening, and was ultimately dismissed from the selection pool.
Sure beats telling the judge you’re prejudiced against all races to get out of jury duty.
[WLFI.com]
