JURY DUTY
The most powerful person in the courtroom is a juror. Our judicial system was founded on the idea that the jury, and the jury alone, is the best decider of truth Each juror is charged with the responsibility of sorting through the evidence and finding truth so that there may be justice for those who have suffered a loss.
The obligation to sit as a juror is as critical to our country's liberty as the obligation to take up arms and defend it. There are no "big" or "small" cases. The right to a jury of one's peers is so important that all matters before a jury are "big" enough for men and women to have fought and died for the right to a jury trial.
The last thousand years of the development of "English Law," which is the basis for our country's civil justice system, has been marked with turmoil and strife with one of the most hard fought for points in the conflict being the failure of the King to provide for a trial by jury. Indeed, when The Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776, it listed several specific reasons for absolving “all allegiance to the British Crown.” Prominent among those reasons for the Declaration of Independence was the failure of the King to provide for a trial by jury.
Everyone should welcome the chance to participate in what is the cornerstone of democracy: The Jury Trial.
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