T homas Jefferson said that the right to a jury trial is more important than the right to vote. This is a powerful statement. It confirms my belief that our jury system is really an integral part of the way we, as a free people, govern ourselves. The fact that ordinary citizens exercise governmental power as jurors guarantees that they will maintain some semblance of control over their lives.
Juries reflect social and economic change.
They are representative of what people value and want from our society. Jury service means an ordinary citizen is directly participating in government, not watching it. When citizens vote in an election, they elect someone else to participate in government for them. The difference is significant. Jurors have a unique role to play in the direction that our country goes legally, politically, socially, and economically.