Jury duty is often reviled as a nuisance unless it comes with TV fame and a big check. In reality, juries are a constitutional right and responsibility that should be fulfilled with the utmost reverence and care.
You wouldn’t know it from the zany jury selection drama plaguing former President Donald Trump’s New York trial this week, but upholding the integrity of the American judicial system is still important and possible. You just won’t find good examples of it in politicized trials in New York City or Washington, D.C.
I learned this firsthand when I served as the forewoman for a small criminal trial in my county last fall.
Jury selection kicked off bright and early on a crisp Monday morning. I giggled to myself when the courthouse employee posted by the front door thanked me and 200 of my newest friends for responding to a summons that, if left unfulfilled, threatened fines and jail time.
As annoying as it was to be herded like cattle through security and into a room for a mandatory event that would likely interfere with my week, I wasn’t mad about my summons. I wanted to be on a jury because I knew I had what it took to be objective.
Impartiality is a hallmark of the jury process, as outlined by the Sixth Amendment and reaffirmed by the due process and equal protection clauses in the 14th Amendment. A jury that can’t remain impartial is at risk of dismissal. Similarly, a
