Nobody can escape jury duty when the time rolls around for them, not even people who have held a high-ranking post in the government at one point – it is, after all, the responsibility of every citizen to take part in the process and to ensure that justice is brought to everyone. As a more recent example of this, Charlie Crist, former governor of Florida, was summoned for jury duty on Wednesday, and he of course showed up, ready to report and do his part.
According to reports from the courtroom, Crist showed up in a navy pinstripe suit, and was immediately recognized by multiple people in attendance, leading to a lot of commotion around him. He had to spend a great deal of time posing for pictures, and shaking the hands of various people in attendance, after which he stood in line to get his own bottled juice, and then shook hands with the cashier who was serving him at the front of the line.
And perhaps unsurprising to some, Crist ended up not getting selected for jury duty after all – he was dismissed on Wednesday afternoon. According to Crist himself, this isn’t the first time he was summoned for jury duty, and the last time it happened he ended up getting dismissed again as well. Back then, he was summoned while he was serving as attorney general for Florida.
In the end, Crist was allowed to leave the courthouse at around 2:30 pm, by which point he stated he was feeling exhausted after waiting for a decision for so long, but in the end, he found the whole experience to be great. He thanked everyone for acting so nicely to him, then went on his way. It’s not known if Crist will be summoned anytime again in the future, although it would certainly be interesting to actually see him sit in the chair of a jury member. Technically, there’s nothing preventing him from taking part in the process.
Crist held his governor’s office until November last year, when the position was handed over to incumbent Rick Scott from the Republican Party. Crist hasn’t been very prominent in the media since then, with most of the attention falling on Scott with regards to Florida’s governing, although Crist doesn’t seem to have any problems with the situation. He’s stated that he’s been taking the opportunity to take some time off, and has been enjoying a Caribbean vacation with his wife. He is currently practicing law at Morgan & Morgan, and hasn’t said anything else about his plans for the future – it’s highly likely that he’ll choose to remain at this position for some time, according to sources close to him.