Madonna does jury duty, gets cut loose quickly as a ‘distraction’

Madonna was in court Monday, but not for any of the usual celebrity legal dramas. The Material Girl was simply showing up for jury duty.

She served only briefly, however. About 90 minutes, according to the New York Daily News, which also noted that she was about a half-hour late, despite an arrival time scheduled for an hour after other folks were required to show.

Seems that merely getting into the courthouse was a chore, the New York Post said. After setting off metal detectors twice, Madonna apparently revealed heavy metal chains around her neck. Mystery solved, move along please.

The 55-year-old pop star spent her time in a clerk’s office, not the jury assembly room, so as not to create a distraction. The early dismissal was also to avoid distractions, a court spokesman said.

“She’d be a total distraction,” one attorney told the Post. “I’m sure she’s bright, but her celebrity overrides her intellect. Everyone would be staring at her — I know I would.”

“She got credit for her service and we’re delighted she came,” New York State Unified Court System spokesman David Bookstaver told reporters (via the Guardian) after explaining that they had plenty of potential jurors on hand that day and didn’t need one more.

So, about that distraction notion — is it just us, or did the crowd and ranks of paparazzi seem pretty thin in the video above showing Madonna’s arrival and departure on the courthouse steps? And that’s including the two male bodyguards and two female assistants spotted by the Daily News.

Hardly the situation current paparazzi-magnet Justin Bieber faced over the weekend, when he begged one photographer to just step back 10 feet with the rest of the paps so he could get out of his car and head for a Fourth of July yacht party.

Back in the day, though, Madonna certainly knew how to handle those intrusive eyes, and no begging was involved (click the link only if you can handle the F-word).

Then again, if everyone inside the courthouse were staring at her, camera or no camera, that probably would be distracting, albeit a nice change of pace during the typically dreary wait to be called for a panel.

“I’m proud to do my job,” Madonna said on her way out of the courthouse, the Daily News reported.

Now she’s off the jury-duty hook for six years. Would have been eight, had she served for 10 days.

That seems like a better deal than in Los Angeles County, where folks can be called for one-day-or-one-trial service once every 12 months. Also a better deal? The pay. New York coughs up $40 a day for jurors. In California, it’s $15 a day — and jurors don’t start getting paid until Day 2 of service.

No matter how many photogs showed up Monday, we doubt Madonna’s going to be waiting on that check.

Follow Christie D’Zurilla on Twitter @theCDZ and Google+. Follow the Ministry of Gossip on Twitter @LATcelebs.