Mayor not excused from duty on jury

But it turns out, even
Mayor Martin O’Malley can’t get out of jury duty. Not only was he
picked for a jury Friday, he was named the foreman.

With pencil and notepad in hand, and a “JUROR” sticker
affixed to his dark gray suit jacket, O’Malley scribbled away as
attorneys and witnesses recounted the details of a routine personal
injury case. On a jury of three men and three women, he took the most
copious notes: “It’s the only way to stay awake,” he explained later.
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He appeared to take the job seriously but with a
touch of humor, occasionally arching his eyebrows, mouthing
words or smiling broadly as he sat in the jury box with five other
jurors and an alternate. Circuit Judge John N. Prevas informed
O’Malley that as the first juror chosen, he was to be the foreman, a
responsibility the mayor said he could accept.

It is the first time, in decades at least, that a sitting
Baltimore mayor has served on a jury. Comptroller William
Donald Schaefer said last night that he has never even been called for
jury duty — not in his 16 years on the City Council, his 15
years as mayor, his eight years as governor or since.

“I must be exempted. I guess when they see my name
they just throw it out,” said an amused Schaefer. He predicted that the courtroom
“will be jammed” when people learn O’Malley is on the jury. The
trial continues Monday.

As mayor, Kurt L.
Schmoke was never picked for a jury, but he said he “came real close”
one of the half-dozen or so times he was called in 12 years in office.
That time, Schmoke had to testify in Annapolis during the
legislative session, and the judge let him off the hook.

The plaintiff in Friday’s case, Lawrence Charles
Chenowith, 50, appreciated the mayor serving on his jury.

“He’s making a good point by doing it, serving like he was
any other citizen. A lot of people try to get out of jury duty, but he
didn’t. I’m sure there are a lot of other important things that he
could be doing. I think he’ll treat me fairly.”

Chenowith, an unemployed flute player from Northeast Baltimore,
sported thick black plastic wraparound glasses, a goatee and bolo tie.
His voice gravelly and solemn, he broke into tears as he spoke on
the witness stand of being squeezed in the door of an MTA bus in
Northeast Baltimore on May 15, 1999, while trying to catch a ride to a
pet store to buy fish food.

“I’ll never get on a bus
again,” cried Chenowith, whose attorney said he is seeking $500,000
for psychological trauma and neck injuries that required surgery.

Staring at his note pad, O’Malley raised his brows
in an expression of surprise when Chenowith said the bus driver
“looked at me nasty.” When Chenowith said musicians don’t make much
money, O’Malley — a guitar player — silently mouthed the word “true.”

O’Malley, a lawyer
himself, grinned and turned to the juror next to him when the judge
gave a puzzling instruction to one witness, who appeared baffled by
the judge’s choice of words.

Afterwards, O’Malley
said he had to cancel meetings, including a briefing on Fire
Department statistics, to serve on the jury, but didn’t mind. “I’m
glad to do my duty.”

He said the worst part was running into another potential juror in the jury room: Southeast Baltimore City
Councilman Nicholas C. D’Adamo Jr.

“I was lobbied
all morning,” he said with a smile. “And I couldn’t escape.”