> Jury?

That's basically why we have juries.
I'm basically just saying that I would
perform the role of a juror, maybe
even a relatively skeptical juror.

I know very well that the
police, prosecutor,
and judges like
to get convictions. Well,
instead,
as a citizen and juror,
I like to get justice.
E.g., if the system is
unjust, I may be its next victim.
I don't like to see injustices.

I know well that the police,
prosecutor, and judge are pursuing
their careers and are getting paid
to do that. In particular, they
are getting paid, getting publicity,
promotions, progress in politics, etc.
from getting convictions that indicate
that they are solving crimes.
And I know that they get paid the
same whether the defendant is
really guilty or innocent with
essentially never any negative consequences
for convicting an innocent person.
And I know enough about human
nature in a system to know
that such people will sleep just
fine convicting an innocent person
because they can blame that on
the system. Where such people
can get into trouble is with
an acquital, again, the same
whether the defendant was guilty
or innocent. So, net, those people
want to convict and are ready,
willing, able, and eager to
lie, cheat, suppress or manufacture
evidence, cut deals with convicted
persons to get testimony, etc.
to get convictions.
It's adversarial, that is, a
fight, right?

In particular,
no way do I want some
non-objective people
out to rack up convictions, get headlines,
promotions, reelections,
votes for the mayor from being "tough
on crime", have an easy way to
claim that a case is "solved", etc.
convict an innocent person.

I'm arriving at the court room
with no preconceived notions
about the guilt or innocence of the
defendant but with a lot of
strong notions about the adversarial
nature of the mud wrestling match
I'm about to view.

So, to get a conviction, the police
and prosecutor will have to
make a solid case and where I
know that they are not objective,
fair, honest, or interested in
justice.

That the police and prosecutor
brought the case cuts no ice with
me, doesn't for a second make
me suspect that the defendant
is guilty.

And for a conviction, emotional
appeals will seriously hurt
the case of the police and prosecutor.
My career is in math, with theorems
and proofs, and computing: I long
since concluded that emotional
screaming does not a math proof make
or a software bug fix.

E.g., there's the line in The
Social Network where the lawyer
tells Zuck that with some little
remark he has "already lost the jury".
Well, not with me. I don't care
what the heck emotional this,
gut twisting that, subtle some other
thing, passion, pathos, poignancy,
drama, etc.: I'm no more emotional
than that granite column out front.
I can work hard not to be emotional
until there's a chance of convicting
an innocent person.

Or, the prosecutor claims
that the defendant
has a rap sheet a mile long and has
had various convictions before. But in this
trial the question is what did the defendant
do this time. To bring in the past of
the defendant is clearly an attempt to
bring emotion, maybe vengeance,
retaliation, or retribution, into the
case. Okay, prosecutor: I'm not
convicting based on emotion,
and you just lost your trust from me
for objectivity, fairness, and rationality.

Sure, the judge can tell the jury
this and that,
but as a juror I'm still free to ignore
what the judge says and obligated
to vote as I
see fit and not give reasons. The decision
just is not up to the police,
prosecutor, and
judge.
Instead, the decision is up to the
jury. However important the police,
prosecutor, and judge believe they
are, the real responsibility is
in the hands of the jury.

The Founding Fathers no doubt
expected that 12 disinterested citizens
would come to better decisions than
hardly objective
people interested in publicity, politics,
promotions, etc.

With a juror, even the letter of
the law doesn't have to count: If
a juror believes that the law is absurd,
then the juror is free to vote to acquit.

It's called the jury system. If I
have to serve, I'll try to be a good
juror.