IRVING, Texas – Jason Witten might have earned a new nickname from some teammates: The Judge.

Witten was a late arrival to Tuesday’s minicamp practice because he was serving on a jury in Denton County. The case was settled and Witten was on the field just before noon with his teammates. He missed morning meetings and his scheduled physical on Monday.

“We’ve all got a civic duty to do,” Witten said. “Proud to be a citizen and held up my end. It went a little longer than we thought but it was a good experience. I was just glad I was able to get back in time for practice.”

It never crossed Witten’s mind to skip the workout session even with his early release from the courthouse.

“Never, of course not,” Witten said. “I just watched the New York Giants go and celebrate at the White House so I had to get out and practice. I know some of those other people were playing hooky the rest of the day.”

Coach Jason Garrett was made aware of Witten’s possible absence on Monday night.

“When I talked to him, it was killing him,” Garrett said. “He’s a good citizen. He cares about the judicial process, but he didn’t want to miss minicamp practice one.”

Witten, who donated his jury pay, even had a message for the media after he was done answering questions: “Guys, when you get your summons don’t be skipping out.”