Today in Slow News: Mr. T Does Jury Duty

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Apr 28, 2009 4:40PM

We knew it was a slow news week when the news-i-verse was all a-quibble about Monkey Pox SARS Bird Flu the Swine Flu. And while he's no Bo Obama, we were amused to see the Sun-Times coverage of Mr. T: Juror. It seems the widely-recognized actor, role model, and cereal spokesperson was called in to Cook County Criminal Court yesterday to be a potential juror on a drug case. The first person to recognize T? The defendant's daughter.

Temeka Cartwright recognized Mr. T, born Laurence Tureaud, despite the American flag-patterned bandanna he wore and was quick to ask to snap a photo with him, said her sister Asia, daughter of defendant Sondra Cartwright, who prosecutors say tried to hide illegal drugs during a police raid at her Ida B. Wells apartment building.

She said she didn't know why Mr.T didn't land on the jury.

"My mom would have picked him," she said.

Sondra Cartwright is defending herself in the case.

Even better was T himself.

"I enjoy doing my civic duty along with my friends I've met," said the Chicago-born actor, 56, motioning to the 20-plus potential jurors who'd been in the room with him for about five hours. "I enjoyed the people that were around me.

"It's not about 'The A-Team;' it's the J-Team -- the jury team."

Amen, T. Amen.