As a juror, David Letterman auditioned for a role he never got

NEW YORK (AP) — The longtime host of the “Late Show with David Letterman” was left to answer questions instead of asking them when a federal judge in New York City put the entertainer through a sort of audition Monday for a possible role as a juror in a criminal trial.

It was the serious setting of a criminal trial for cryptocurrency fraud when Judge P. Kevin Castel peppered the famously bearded comedian, identified in court only as “Juror 16,” with questions, just as he did with three dozen other potential jurors to determine who would be included on the panel of 12 jurors and four alternates.

The potential jurors had already survived a general round of questioning, which excludes people on hardship grounds such as health problems or jobs from which they cannot be excused. The trial is expected to last less than two weeks.

When Letterman, who retired from his show in 2015, made it to what could be the final round of judging, the judge posed a simple question: “Where do you live?”

“Hartford,” Letterman replied, proving that he couldn’t say a single word without making a joke.

“No, that’s a joke,” Letterman quickly told the judge. Hartford is in Connecticut, which would have disqualified him as a juror because it’s outside the area from which jurors are selected.

“Nice try,” the judge replied, adding, “You thought you were giving up Queens,” another place outside the Southern District of New York area. Queens is in the Eastern District of New York.

After Letterman revealed his real place of residence – Westchester County – the two began a barrage of questions and answers that spanned nearly three dozen exchanges.

In the process, the judge, attorneys and about three dozen potential jurors learned much of what the world already knows about Letterman. He was born in Indianapolis, graduated from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, and has a 20-year-old son who is studying in Massachusetts.

When asked what he does for a living, Letterman said he currently works “for a company called Netflix.”

“Spouse or partner?” asked Castel.

“I had both. Right now I only have the wife,” Letterman replied.

When asked how he gets his news, Letterman looks back in time and says, “I used to get the newspaper from the porch every morning. Now I turn on the computer and have a collection of news sources from all over the United States and the world.”

When asked what he likes to watch besides the Netflix shows he is involved in, Letterman said, “I like sports.”

“I’m glad we have football. I’m glad it’s baseball season again. I like motorsports. I like pretty much everything most Americans watch on TV,” he said.

The judge asked him if he was an Indianapolis Colts football fan.

“Big Colts fan. 0 and 2, but still a fan,” he said, referring to the fact that the Colts lost their first two games this season.

According to Letterman, his hobbies include fishing, skiing and the outdoors.

“Ever been called to serve as a juror?” asked the judge.

“I’ve been called a lot. I just haven’t been able to get it done,” Letterman replied.

“You know, this could be the lucky charm,” Castel said, knowing that Letterman had a 50-50 chance of making it to the jury.

“It would be my pleasure,” Letterman said.

Shortly before the jury was sworn in, Letterman was finally excluded from the panel when a prosecutor issued a so-called “strike,” which allows attorneys for both sides to exclude a certain number of potential jurors from the panel for any reason. It was the third of four strikes issued by prosecutors. No reason was given.

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