Former US president Barack Obama has been summoned for jury duty in the state of Illinois and is planning to serve, a court official says.<\/p>\n
Details have not been released but he is expected to appear in Cook County next month.<\/p>\n
Mr Obama, 56, owns a home in Washington DC and also in Chicago and could be called for civil or criminal cases.<\/p>\n
Ex-presidents Bill Clinton and George W Bush also appeared for jury selection after leaving the White House.<\/p>\n
Barack Obama went to Harvard Law School and lectured at the University of Chicago’s law school for 12 years before he joined the Senate. He also worked as a civil rights lawyer.<\/p>\n
“He made it crystal-clear to me through his representative that he would carry out his public duty as a citizen and resident of this community,” Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans\u00a0was quoted by the Chicago Tribune as saying.<\/a><\/p>\n Mr Evans said that the former president’s security was a priority. A spokesman for Mr Obama has not commented.<\/p>\n Jurors in the county get paid $17.25 (\u00a313) for each day served.<\/p>\n If chosen, Mr Obama would not be the first high-profile person to appear on a jury in Cook County – celebrity Oprah Winfrey sat on a jury for a murder trial in 2004,\u00a0NPR reports.<\/a><\/p>\n Since leaving office in January, Mr Obama\u00a0has been spotted kite surfing<\/a>\u00a0with billionaire Richard Branson and\u00a0vacationing in Indonesia<\/a>.<\/p>\n Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"