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.
Details have not been released but he is expected to appear in Cook County next month.
Mr Obama, 56, owns a home in Washington DC and also in Chicago and could be called for civil or criminal cases.
Ex-presidents Bill Clinton and George W Bush also appeared for jury selection after leaving the White House.
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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.
“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 was quoted by the Chicago Tribune as saying.
Mr Evans said that the former president’s security was a priority. A spokesman for Mr Obama has not commented.
Jurors in the county get paid $17.25 (£13) for each day served.
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, NPR reports.
Since leaving office in January, Mr Obama has been spotted kite surfing with billionaire Richard Branson and vacationing in Indonesia.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
