I served jury duty yesterday in the New York Federal District Court, and was questioned for the Isiah Thomas sexual harassment case.  Today I’m quoted in the New York Times and the New York Daily News.  I guess I gave a good sound bite to the New York sports media — call me WFAN!

As promised, here is the story…

This was my third time serving jury duty, so I’ve become accustomed to the usual procedures and nothing that morning seemed out of the ordinary.  I’d been called amongst the first group of jurors from the jury pool and we were all shuffled into a courtroom and seated.  I was sitting in the second row of the audience, and the plaintiff, defendant and all of the lawyers were seated in front of us with their backs towards us.  Then one of the men, who was sitting just ahead of me, turned around to look at the prospective jurors and I recognized him instantly — it was Isiah Thomas!

My insides did a summersault at the sudden realization that this was no ordinary, ho-hum, run of the mill case.  This was high-profile!  This was going to be in the news!  I’d heard about this case!  Without thought the words “Oh My God” escaped from my breath.

I wasn’t called in for questioning until late in the afternoon.  Each prospective juror was being questioned individually in a separate room and the process was taking a long time.  When it was finally my turn I was seated at a desk, admittedly nervous at the exceptional circumstances in which I found myself.  Directly across from me was the judge, sitting in front of a bright window so that I could hardly see more than his dark outline against the glare of the sunlight.  It almost gave him a divine presence, though I’m sure this was completely unintentional.  Directly to my right was Isiah Thomas and his lawyers.  To my left was his accuser and her lawyers.  The press was behind me.

I was asked if I was familiar with the case; I’d heard about it on TV but didn’t know any details. 

I was asked if I had any opinions about the case; I told them that I’ve had discussions with friends about how it seems like basketball players get themselves into a lot of trouble with the law (the New York Times paraphrased this quote) but that I also understood that someone with a high profile and a lot of money could be an easy target for this kind of case.

I was asked if I was a Knicks fan; I told them I used to be but wasn’t anymore.  This response was met by Isiah Thomas slouching over the table in mock dissapointment and burying is head in his arms.  After this, I continued to explain that I gave up following the Knicks after they signed Latrell Sprewell.  (This was quoted in both the New York Times and the Daily News).

I was asked if it would be difficult for me to give up watching sports or sports news during the trial; I told them I was a big Mets fan, and with the Mets close to a pennant, this would be very hard for me.

I was asked if I had any opinion of Stephon Marbury, who is scheduled to testify in the case; I told them I had a very low opinion of Marbury, especially after his recent comments defending Michael Vick during the dog fighting scandal.  Responding to this, the judge reminded me that it would be my responsibility to judge all witness testimony equally and without bias.  I told him I understood this duty and would do my best, however, given testimony from a witness whom I know nothing about and testimony from a man whom I have very little respect for, it would be difficult to be completely unbiased.

Finally I was asked to tell my profession, education and other vital stats and then excused from the room.  Within a minute of returning to my seat in the courtroom I was dismissed from the case.

I’m quite proud of the fact that I was completely forthright and honest in the questioning.  Not surprisingly, a knowledgeable sports fan with strong opinions and moral principles was not the right person to judge this case.  But it was certainly an entertaining experience, and now I have a great story to tell.