Brad Pitt Banned From Jury Duty: Hunky Actor Ruled too Distracting for Court

Reports are surfacing that actor Brad Pitt was dismissed from jury duty out of concerns that he would be too much of a distraction. Pitt, 51, was summoned last Friday to criminal court in downtown Los Angeles, CA in order to be interviewed for jury duty. However, after a few hours, the court decided that he would not be required to serve.

''Like any other potential juror, Brad would have received a jury summons that required him to travel downtown and be interviewed by the judge or attorneys in what is called voir dire," William R, Lively, a city attorney explained according to the Dailymail. "This is a system of examination whereby both the prosecution and defense have the opportunity to object to a particular juror. In most cases as soon as it's discovered that a potential juror is a major celebrity, that person is dismissed, but that is not always the case.''

In Pitt's case, the court believed that his fame could have skewed the jury's decision.

Lively, who has a criminal and civil law practice, added, "You just can't stick Brad Pitt in a jury box and expect 11 jurors to ignore him. It's only natural that those jurors would be watching to see how Brad reacts to what's being said and that they could be influenced by his opinions once the jury goes behind closed doors to render a verdict."

Although Pitt's schedule is full, an insider claimed that Pitt thought an experience on the jury would have been interesting and was allegedly hoping to get picked on to a jury for a small case.

The last time the "Fury" actor was called for jury duty was in 2003. At that time, he was not dismissed early. There were no confirmations regarding whether or not the star had served on a jury.

Big name celebrities have been dismissed from court service in the past. In July, Madonna was dismissed from court within about two hours. In 2013, actor Tom Hanks was actually selected to sit on the jury of a domestic violence case. However a member of the LA city's attorney's office approached Hanks during a lunch break, which breached court rules. The member ended up paying a $150 fine in a plea deal. The case was dismissed.