I’m actually not sure what number this is in the How to Avoid Jury Duty series. I’m pretty sure there are more than 10, but the last one I numbered was #9 (Leave Your Vote With the Foreman and Go to Cancún), so let’s go with this one for now.

A Pennsylvania woman was fined $500 on July 23 after she dropped what was almost certainly an F-bomb after being selected for the jury in a criminal case:

An Erie woman, dismayed that she had been picked to serve as a juror in a weapons case, audibly harrumphed the worst curse word of them all, then huffed and puffed her way to her seat in the jury box.

While there might be some disagreement over what exactly is “the worst curse word of them all,” it seems reasonable to assume that in this case it was either an F-bomb or one of the many derivatives incorporating the same. The “huffing and puffing” then served as further evidence that she really did not want to serve, and I guess the lawyers felt that under the circumstances they didn’t want her to.

The judge, who was apparently out of the courtroom when the bomb detonated, did excuse the woman from jury duty but also held her in contempt for the outburst. She apologized, but said she had been “pissed” because she did not want to lose income at work. That’s understandable, but the judge noted that she hadn’t claimed serving would be a hardship when she filled out the questionnaire.

Keeping your mouth shut can be a much better strategy, especially if you do it for a really long time right after being asked whether you can be impartial. You know, like you’re thinking it over and just aren’t sure.