Since today is 90210...

...I have a Beverly Hills story to tell.

In the mid 80's I lived in Van Nuys, worked at UCLA, and was called to jury duty in Beverly Hills. The first day of our two week assignment we all met with the judge and he gave us a few suggestions: sit in the court rooms and listen to the cases, get to know our fellow jurors, enjoy the two-hour lunch break, and don't arrive until 9:30am (that was the best news). Back then if your employer didn't pay your salary while you served on jury duty, you weren't obligated to stay. I stayed.

I enjoyed the two hour lunches. I brought my lunch and ate outside. I window shopped on Rodeo Drive.

In those two weeks they never called a jury.

My last day on jury duty there was a case where a woman had been to a party (and had been drinking), she left in her VW bug and hit a moving fire truck--a fire truck with lights flashing and sirens blaring. They had an expert calculating her weight, what she had supposedly eaten, and her blood alcohol level. And Herbie Hancock was there as her witness. He had been at the same party.

Beverly Hills. 90210. Brushes with fame in the court house.