The Old Power Disease. Judges like to think they are kings of OUR courtrooms. Lawyers hope they can influence juries to render decisions in their favor because it enhances their business reputations. Both fear juries because they can't predict or control them. The unpredictability factor with the jury system is an unwelcome reminder that judges and lawyers don't really control everything and they just don't like that.
Jurors do have power.
That's the dangerous idea that has caused such a flap in the Phelps County Courthouse. Oliver Gets the Last Word. One of the handouts has a quote from Oliver Wendell Holmes - one of our most revered U.S. Supreme Court Justices. It sounds like they're the ones who need to do some reading. We recommend they start with Mel's proclamation and then try the First Amendment.