No Exemptions for Big Shots : A former congressman acts as if he is above jury duty--he’s not

Jury duty can be an ennobling experience or a frustrating one. The waiting can seem interminable, especially if you are not chosen as a juror, and being on call for weeks can be nerve-racking. But jury service is the civic duty and public privilege of every citizen. William E. Dannemeyer, a former House member and a Fullerton Republican now pursuing a U.S. Senate seat, apparently doesn’t understand that.

He was ordered to report for jury duty at the Santa Ana Superior Court Oct. 18. By all accounts, he asked the court clerk to be excused, arguing that he was unlikely to be picked for a jury since he is a former prosecutor and was a congressman for 14 years. The clerk told him to join the juror pool anyway.

After reporting late to a courtroom to which he had been assigned--he said he didn’t hear his name called--Dannemeyer was sent back to the juror waiting room just before lunch. When the line of those waiting to be excused for lunch didn’t move fast enough for him, he simply left. After attending a debate in Fontana on school vouchers, he returned at 3:30 p.m.; he had been gone for more than four hours, even though the lunch break for jurors lasts only an hour and a half. Dannemeyer departed at the end of the day apparently thinking he had done his duty. He was wrong.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Donald E. Smallwood ordered the former legislator back to his courtroom this week to discuss his cavalier attitude and gave him a well-deserved lecture on the responsibilities of citizenship.

Smallwood told Dannemeyer it was unfair “for someone of your position” to ask to be excused when others with pressing personal obligations had to serve. He’s right. Public figures who try to shirk their duty send an abysmal message.

Though Dannemeyer insists he was ready to perform his civic duty, his last-minute wrangling and extended lunch hour suggest just the opposite. As Judge Smallwood said, “Everyone who is called comes down here and does their duty.” It should go without saying that “everyone” includes William Dannemeyer.