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I don't get the ham sandwich reference. Could you explain?

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Unlike a trial jury where there are prosecution and defense attorneys who question prospective jurors, none of us were questioned by anyone before being selected. I assume we filled out a questionnaire that we mailed in a few weeks before being called in for our first meeting but I don't think our ethnicity would have been one of the questions.

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I'm familiar with that 'ham sandwich' reference and it wasn't far from the truth. I guess we heard over a hundred cases in the 11 months we were empaneled and we returned an indictment on every single case. There was one where we almost returned a majority 'no' vote while we were discussing it among ourselves (23 jury members if they all showed up that day). The case was handled by an Assistant DA (as they all were) who had not originally been assigned the case and who was obviously unprepared not her fault on short notice. She was subbing for a guy whose wife was in the hospital giving birth. The guy showed up before we voted so he was allowed to present his case. After we heard his presentation we voted for indictment, thus keeping our perfect record intact.

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I was excused from a trial while sitting in the jury box when the prosecution exercised a peremptory challenge. When the two sides try to pick a jury that they think will give them the best result they are allowed to excuse a certain number of potential jurors without giving a reason why. I think the reason why in my instance is because when I was asked by the defense if I would be more likely to believe the testimony of a police officer over that of a civilian I said something to the effect that a police officer is just as capable of giving false testimony as anyone else. I was quite happy to have spent only about four hours in court and was excused from further obligation.
When I got home an envelope was waiting for me in my mailbox from a Federal court. The letter told me to report for jury duty about a month later. I ended up being one of 23 members of a Grand Jury for a period of one year. It was only for one day each week and more than half the time we met for less than three hours. The pay wasn't bad $50 plus mileage. We met 48 times. The Grand Jury doesn't hear actual trials, it listens to one government witness, usually, who is asked by an Asst. US Attorney to give testimony. The Grand Jury votes whether there is enough probable cause to return an indictment so that the accused will be charged with a crime and sent to trial in front of another jury.

did you find the trial interesting?

I got selected for a jury on a civil case back in 2002. It lasted 5 days and we ruled in favor of the defendants.

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i am sure the material he would have culled from that experience would be priceless, as is the thought of him actually sitting thru the whole process without getting into any trouble lol
if it wasn't for my horse, i wouldn't have spent that year in college

I think he would have enjoyed it, if he'd been picked to be on a jury

Craig's a free man. The show will go on. From Twitter:
Freed by judge who agreed I was too much of a showbiz douche to be in a jury in her courtroom. Thanks ( I think) Your Honor.
Man, just when you think you know someone.

If he does, I'll bet he's facinated.

I just read Craig's tweets- hilarious! It seems he has been called into a court room since he mentioned that the judge doesn't want them to tweet about the case. Craig's wondering1c84 if he'll get out in time for the show.
He could be there as late as 5 PM. Might be a late taping tonight. I'm sure he could have gotten out of it, but he probably wants to experience jury duty. I doubt he'd be selected as a juror. He has a daily taping schedule.
Man, just when you think you know someone.

He probably hasn't been chosen on a jury yet, just sitting around in the selection room. There's no restrictions in thereI don't think.
Debbie
Craig Ferguson, "I know it's lameit's my job!"

You beat me to it, Debbie. I was going to send everyone to Twitter.
Interesting. I wouldn't think tweeting would be allowed during a trial.
"I'm from New JerseyWe don't get our balls pierced."
Danny DeVito

Well, the answer is hereCraig is currently tweeting from the jury selection room in LA. Check it out on Twitter: @CraigyFerg.
Debbie
Craig Ferguson, "I know it's lameit's my job!"

I'm in Michigan, and years ago served on a jury. There was a guy there, a convicted felon, that they wouldn't excuse from duty, but did excuse him everytime he got called for a pool. You would have thought they'd have excused him entirely, considering nobody wanted him on a jury.

Maybe California is a little more lax because it's a more populous state, i.e. a larger pool of potential jurors to pull from. I was speaking of Delaware, and it's nearly impossible to plead the prior commitment case to get out of jury duty. Even getting a medical excuse for a condition that makes it a hardship for you to serve is very difficult. It really blows.
I have often been driven to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go.

Nobody ever said Craig would be excused because he was a celebrity. I live, and was speaking of California, the same state, which Craig lives, and received a Jury summons. Not being available due to prior work commitments, i.e. taping pre-scheduled shows, I believe is a valid reason to be excused for Jury duty. Perhaps I am wrong.
Yes, your state does sound harsh.
Jack's not dead! Jack would never die without telling me, first!

Man, I don't know what state you folks live in. In my state it's pretty hard core. They don't care what you do for a living, how necessary you are at work, or whether or not you get paid if you're not there. If there's no LEGAL reason for you to be excused, you're expected to report. One of my friends is a teacher, and she got called for a high-profile capital murder trial. She was sequestered for several weeks, and missed an entire marking period of school. No amount of begging and pleading on behalf of her students could get her out of it.
Around here, they wouldn't care if you were a celebrity, or if you were a minor deity. Unless there is a legal reason (i.e., you know someone intimately involved in the case, witnessed the crime, etc.) for you not to sit the jury, you have to appear. You can be held in contempt of court, fined, and even jailed if you ignore the summons. No one can help you!!
Sounds pretty evil, doesn't it?
I have often been driven to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go.

Very likely, he was excused. He has filming commitments, does he not, with the talk show, right? The talk show films during the day, with live audiences. Jury duty requires that Craig or any potential Juror be free, during the day for at least a week.
Jack's not dead! Jack would never die without telling me, first!