Jury duty observation

#61

I’m sure OJ Simpson, George Zimmerman along with thousands of others every year would disagree. No shortage of people with MAJOR pushes to lock them up or worse are saved by juries every day.

No, I don’t. I’ve proudly done my civic duty as an American a handful of times now, and the couple times I was assigned we did our part. Not sure where your point of view is coming from but I’ve been in the courtroom watching some rookie moron prosecutor trying to destroy somebody over nonsense or a technicality that nobody would ever care about. Twice I’ve been part of the jury that stopped that dead in it’s tracks. One time I was on a jury that found somebody guilty that was most likely gonna get off because they were locally connected (killed a teenage girl on a bike with his car not paying attention and ran a stop sign). How would you feel if that was your kid or family member and the jury didn’t take it seriously? Guess we’ll have to agree to disagree, hopefully one day your views on your freedoms and where they come from change.

Also, next time you think people can’t change our country… remember that Donald Trump is our president right now! Doesn’t matter what side of that people are on… if that doesn’t prove the point nothing does.

#62

If people could change the country, the candidate who won the popular vote would be President right now.

#63

Totally untrue, we have the electoral college for a reason, and it must be that way. It’s the only way to balance populations that dominate one side or the other. If we didn’t have it the country could be pushed into who knows what going with the trends of the times or whatever a few combined states with large populations wanted. Our founding fathers were clear on that. Our government was designed from the ground up to be resistant to that and to represent the country as a whole with checks and balances. Trump being president very much proves people can still effect government. Plus, lets be fair, This election was different than most, Hillary made more enemies on the left than she did the right which usually isn’t the case on either side. With scandal after scandal it’s not a fair comparison over all as far as how our elections usually go. The upside is they get more amusing every cycle.

#64

One person, one vote. If someone can’t be bothered to vote then, IMO, their opinion doesn’t count. Of the citizens who cared enough about their country to actually vote, more voted for HRC. That should be all that matters.

#65

That we can agree on.

I’d like to agree with that, but unfortunately that logic would only hold if a majority weren’t blind sheep that mindlessly voted based on what some moron on Twitter said instead of a candidates actual policy, or the people who are indoctrinated from birth to vote for a D or R with zero knowledge of anything else. That’s just dangerous. Our founding fathers knew that we could be taken over by a population center taking up a minority, but controlling a majority of the country based on nothing more than population size. “Tyranny by Majority” I believe is what James Madison said. We’re never getting rid of the EC, they’re needed for better or worse. Although I’ll give the millennial’s credit that many of the older ones are waking up and getting a taste of reality, imagine if their population was the majority, Imagine if they’re viewpoint of entitlement and everything being “free” was put to practice! We’re $22 TRILLION in debt now, imaging if the spending was increased 50x? It would make people happy at first, until the country collapsed and we were hunting dogs in the street like Venezuela. Seems extremist but that’s how it happens.

#66

You’re awfully arrogant and judgmental. We’ll have to agree to disagree.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #67

I’d like to remind people that our community guidelines ask you to refrain from attacking people and stick to discussing ideas. Remember that our goal is civilized discourse, not personal attacks.

(Consensus is Politics) #68

Unless things have changed, the Jury overrides the law. If a jury member thinks that for any reason, that the accused shouldn’t be prosecuted, for any reason, they can say not guilty. No reason given.

I sat on a jury back in the 80’s. The two lawyers spoke about the LAW, and how we the jury would be imposing it. One of them made it clear that even if evidence showed something was illegal, its actually up to the jury to decide whether or not the defendant was guilty. He made references about cases where something was technically illegal, but the jury decided that even so the person charged with the crime could be found not guilty of it, if for no other reason than the jury decided it was an unjust law, or that circumstance prevailed. Speeding to the hospital for example.

Something that amazed me was the jury selection. I could tell by the questions asked of the potential jurors that each side wanted to stack the deck. Certain jurors seemed to be picked based on lack of education.

During our deliberations it took over an hour to convince one juror that a car that gets from point A to point B in 20 minutes must be traveling at 120 mph if that distance was 40 miles. In the end she just gave up and said ‘fine, i dont beleive it but whatever’. :roll_eyes:

(GINA ) #69

We have an electoral college for the same reason every state, no matter the size or population, has two senators and the Senate has more power than the HoR. The small states (of the time) would have never signed on to be part of the US if a small but densely populated area could control them.

Look at a blue/red county election map from 2016. That’s why we have an electoral college.

#70

Yes! I’ve actually never served on a trial, but my husband recently did - despite being a free-lancer, so he had to cancel a week of work that he can’t recover - and it was an incredible experience for him. A mix of so many people of different backgrounds on the jury, and they all seemed to take the responsibility very seriously. The judge congratulated them at the end on a job well done and then said something along the lines of “Tell your friends and your family: we need them. This system only works because of you.”

#71

@x-Dena-x I’ve seen enough of your posts to know that if I were in a trial, I’d be mighty relieved to see you on the jury. And I’m even more sure that if I were serving on a jury I’d LOVE to you have you as a fellow juror! (please? you bring your amazing humor and cynicism and I’ll bring the cheese)
-signed, another overly opinionated East Coast tri-stater

(GINA ) #72

I’ve been called many times and every time I go in thinking I am going to try to get out of it, but by the time the judge gets done with his ‘civic duty’ speech I’d join the Marines if they’d have me.

I have only actually been picked for a jury once and it was a frustrating experience.

(Little Miss Scare-All) #73

@Madeleine :heart::hugs::hugs::heart:

Thank you for saying so!! I appreciate that lol. Ok, Maddie, you may have just changed my mind on the whole thing–cheese goes a long way for me! :metal::hugs:

#74

:blush: :hugs: