How's this for a difference

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priv8ter

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So, for some reason I followed a link on another thread over to Micheal Moore's Forum. One of the folks over there has this for her signature:

When you go to court, you are putting yourself in the hands of 12 people who weren't smart enough to get out of jury duty.

But, if you look around here or TFL. you will notice the reacurring theme:

It's better to be judged by 12, then carried by 6.

When I stop and think, in only 30 seconds of browsing, I saw one of the most Elitist statements I think I have ever seen.

Just had to share that, spread around the headache I am getting.
 
Massad Ayoob puts it something like this to his LE training classes: "It's easy to joke about a jury being made up of 12 people who weren't smart enough to get out of jury duty. I see it another way. I see a group of people with a combined IQ of well over 1,500, well over two or three centuries of life experience, and twelve separately functioning and independent bull@#$% detectors!"

I think Mas has it right... I'd rather rely on my capability to bring the truth out in court, through my lawyer, and rely on their common sense and experience. I think that while there are miscarriages of justice, most of the time, the system works.
 
Quote: When you go to court, you are putting yourself in the hands of 12 people who weren't smart enough to get out of jury duty.

Cynicism is part of what's wrong with leftist extremists. I wouldn't even consider trying to shirk my civic duty.
 
FIJA

As a matter of principle, whenever the subject of juries comes up, I take it as an opportunity to talk about Jury Nullification, which is the right of juries to fail to convict someone who factually committed a violation of an unjust law. For details, see http://www.fija.org . Spread da word.
 
Since I'm not a hitman, bank robber or drug smuggler, I assume that should I ever find myself on trial, it would be on something I did that I consider appropriate and the state doesn't. Given my lifestyle, that would most probably be a self defense shooting.

From that perspective, I think of the jury as 12 reasonable individuals that when told of the facts, will make the same decision that I did and consider my actions justified.

BTW, I have found the perfect way to avoid jury duty, simply want to do it! I would absolutely love to be chosen for jury duty because I have never seen that aspect of our legal system. As yet, I've never even received a notice to appear for jury duty, much less been selected. About 20 years ago, I wrote the county clerk asking if I could volunteer for jury duty and was informed that the method of selection was covered by law and based on a random selection process. No volunteers. :( There are a couple of my friends that get a summons once EVERY YEAR. So much for random numbers.
 
I won't say that jury duty is fun, but it is a very interesting experience. I learned more about our legal system in one day of jury duty, than in all my high school/college government classes put together. First and foremost, I learned that you can pretty much forget about defending yourself. Even a low-end landshark will eat you alive on procedure in a courtroom.
 
Well I will be serving Jury Duty soon. It is my responsiblity as a citizen as is defense of the nation. I will go and if picked do the best job I possibly can.

The left look to get out of Jury Duty? Good! I hope saner people will be in the majority then!
 
It's important that some serve that funtion. If we are to have a trail by 12 of our peers, someone has to do it.
I have been on a jury and it is both boring and enlightening.
I also have tried to voluteer. My reasoning at the time was that if you are unemployed the token $5/day looks better than nothing and if you have done it recently you won't be called on for a year.
The reality of it is that you are more likely to be called if you have a job and it will cost you to be there.
The money you lose out on is worth it in that you are making a difference while you serve. For that short time YOU ARE a part of the legal system!
 
I've been called a couple of times. Evety time, as soon as it comes out that I'm an engineer, and not interested in 'soft' arguements, I get dismissed, presumably by the side with the weakest case.
 
Got on and got "alternated" at the last minute, so I didn't have a hand in the decision. Suffice it to say that the insurance ratepayers are now out $300,000 to a parasitic bozo because not one of the eight jurors, nor the defense attorney, could solve an Algebra 1 distance-time-speed problem. :rolleyes:

- pdmoderator
 
For some reason it seems that I am called for jury duty every year, I always go (luckily my employer pays for the time served) and I take serving seriously, as well as enjoy it.

However, it can be an eye opener to find out how (sorry for the insensitivity) inane some people are.

The last case I served on was a civil case for damages from injuries resulting from a traffic accident. While it took some time we managed to agree that the injured party was as much, if not more at fault than the defendant.

Fine.

I was then the only juror out of twelve who felt that the injured party was not entitled to a monetary judgement JUST BECAUSE SHE FILED THE SUIT and we should feel sorry for her. We wound up awarding $5000.00, not a large sum and much less than was sought.

And of course with the OJ trial, The McDonald's spilled coffee case etc you really begin to wonder if "judged by twelve" is such a promising prospect.:scrutiny:
 
In my county, you can't be summoned more than once every three years.
 
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