TH, I don't condone the concept of supporting one right while subverting another. My issue with jury duty as it stands is the the perversion of the system. For example, “right to trial by a jury of your peers”. Well, where I'm from you are supposed to perform jury duty within your county. However, every time, and it is annually, I've been called it was to a different county. I live in the country and am called to a city in another county. Why? This is not proper. How am I, a white female living in the country, supposed to understand the plight of the black man or woman living in the inner city? How am I his or her peer? How can I relate? I thought they wanted people that could understand that the defendant had a bad upbringing, a brother killed in gang violence, a drug using mother and abusive father etc. This may sound extreme but how am I supposed to look at their plight having grown up in a somewhat privileged family? Guilty is guilty so far as whether a crime was committed regardless of mitigating circumstances.
So why I am called to another county? Well, the judicial system has decided the outcome of the case and they need someone like me in there that can not relate to the defendant and their upbringing to put them away. They are not following their own rules, they are perverting the system. If the system followed the rules I'd be willing to participate in the duty. If they wanted the defendant to walk they would fill the jury with people that could relate.
I've had numerous lawyers all tell me the same as far as to how the trials are “arranged”. Further, I have had one experience first hand when younger. Class A misdemeanor for carrying the wrong type of knife in the wrong state. Well, the lawyer told me exactly how it would go down and it went that way. My lawyers fee, a “fine” with charges dropped and the bribes for prosecutor and judge. No bs, this is how it went down. The system is a farce.
The other problem I have with jury duty is the lack of protection or rights to the jurors. The rights of the defendant are always considered and very well should be. However, a juror should not be placed in harms way to perform the duty. I've seen this happen with gang related cases. Specific juror information is available to the defense and can be relayed to others on the outside for nefarious purposes. I can see the dissemination of juror background and general information but not information so that the juror or their family can be identified and located at home or work. This is something that needs to be addressed and in fact I have addressed it with my local and state level officials, not that any change has happened.....yet.
