Several recent topics have involved the question of self-defense and possible legal repercussions.

I was wondering how many ETS members are fully-informed jurors? I know that most people do all they can to avoid jury duty. There's even a joke about how would you like to be at the mercy of twelve people who weren't smart enough to get out of jury duty?

It pays less than you would pay a ten-year-old to pull weeds in your yard. Your boss grumbles and moans that he can't afford to let you go for a few days. It puts you behind in your work when you get back to it.

But look at it from the other side: if the SHTF in your personal life and you end up being charged with a crime (guilty or not), do you want your jury to be informed people like yourself, or people like the schmuck down the street who has, possibly, two working brain cells?

If you're not familiar with your rights in the jury room, as a juror or as a defendant, you might want to check out the Fully Informed Jury Association at http://fija.org/. It's a non-profit enterprise that can educate you, tell you what your rights are, tell you what your duties as a juror are, and provide very inexpensive literature for your own education, or for passing out to others.

Their purpose: "The role of our jurors is to protect private citizens from dangerous government laws and actions. Many existing laws erode and deny the rights of the people. Jurors protect against tyranny by refusing to convict harmless people. Our country's founders planned and expected that we, the people, would exercise this power and authority to judge the law as well as the facts every time we serve as jurors. Juries are the last peaceful defense of our civil liberties."

Sound interesting? It is!

Sue

Good or bad, when I was a full time peace officer I was not elgible for jury duty, as a reTIRED one no defense attorney wants me on a jury...

I've been a juror 3 times and each case was different and interesting. The last time, which was 4-5 years ago, was a federal case. Great learning experience.

2 years ago, I also represented myself in court (in front of a judge, not a jury) for a speeding ticket and won. Now that was a fantastic feeling.

I wouldn't say that any of the other jurors were stupid or uninformed. They took it all very seriously and did the best job they could. Jury duty, aside from serving in the military, is the best way you can serve your country/community, and I highly recommend sitting on one.

I had a funny experience when I was being questioned for a possible jury; one of the defense's table of atty's, out of the blue, asked me if I had ever heard of National Review. Without thinking, I just replied that yes, I actually had a subscription to it. I think I pretty much sealed my fate as not suitable for jury duty in his mind. He didn't ask another question. Needless to say, I wasn't asked to serve, even though I was very interested in doing so. Apparently I was not qualified for some reason... every other time I've been called for duty, they didn't even bring in a jury, plee bargains or whatever at the 11th hour, so I just sat reading magazines for a few hours with 20 people, and then was sent home.

This is a very sensitive subject for me personally and I could easily climb up on my soapbox and write about this subject for pages and pages but instead let me simply leave a few points to consider.

First, I agree jury duty is an extremely important function in our society but the role of jurors is not and was never meant to be nearly has powerful as fija.org claims it to be. If you doubt that ask yourself why there are NO juries in appeals court only judges?

Second, The people at fija.org are more confused about the hows and whys of our legal system than the "uninformed jurors" that they claim to educate.

The role of a jury is not to "protect private citizens from dangerous government laws and actions." The role of a jury is to help decide the facts of the case, not judge the law. No twelve people (including the President) in this country get to decide the law for anyone else. The laws are established by a majority vote by officials that are elected by a MAJORITY of the population, not 12 random people.

Ask yourself - If your life (or a relative's) was hanging on the verdict would you honestly want 12 people picked at random from your community to decide for YOU what laws are and are not "dangerous?"

Third, if you want to know how dangerous jurors with an agenda are I recommend reading this http://www.abanet.org/journal/redesign/10fjury.html

Finally, the problem with our legal system when it comes to jurors is not bad juror instructions, greedy attorneys, or lazy judges, the problem is the same basic root issue that is at the heart of most of this country's problems and that is the utter lack of education of the majority of our population when it comes to our history, government and legal system. I love this country but the fact remains that the average person (PHRASECENSOREDPOSTERSHOULDKNOWBETTER.) in this country is dumb as a stump. I have literally seen jury members who could not correctly answer "who is the vice-president of the United States?" deciding death sentence cases. Most PHRASECENSOREDPOSTERSHOULDKNOWBETTER. in this country talk about their constitutional rights but yet they have never even read the US Constitution much less understood it. They happily claim their right to freedom of speech and religion but most could not explain to you what the Bill of Rights actually is. History and civics have all but disappeared from our schools curriculum but if you really want to make yourself a more qualified juror, if you really want to educate your children and make them better prepared and more capable members of our society then educate yourself and them about the hows and whys of our government and legal system.

Again this is a sensitive subject for me so I apologize for the soapbox. Obviously not everyone will agree with my personal views which is part of what makes this a great country.

Well said! This thread may be a bit off the survival subject but understanding our Constitution may be an important social survival skill because if we don't reign in the current trend in gov't then we will be looking at a possible long term survival situation; political unrest.

Does that mean we get to ask questions based on that knowledge? The way I understand that it works now, education doesn't do any good as far as deciding the case because only the attorneys or judge can ask questions.

"...ask yourself why there are NO juries in appeals court only judges?"

I thought appeals courts were used when someone who didn't like the verdict in the trial court, and tried to get a new trial based on law interpretation, errors in facts, or due process? In cases like that, what good would a jury of ignorant nitwits be?

"The role of a jury is to help decide the facts of the case, not judge the law."

I just looked at your profile, and it says you are an attorney.

Is it not true that a jury can find a defendant not guilty even though the facts show he disobeyed the law, if the jury thinks that the law is invalid or unjust? And if a series of such verdicts shows that people think that a particular law is not just, that law could be repealed? Isn't this what happened to the 18th amendment to our Constitution in the 1930s?

Isn't this called 'jury nullification"? And isn't it a de facto power of the jury? And don't judges and attorneys fail to mention this power when the jury is being given its instructions? And hasn't this power been passed down in Common Law to us in a straight line from the Magna Carta, which was created in the 13th century?

And don't judges and attorneys simply HATE the fact that it does exist?

Sue

I was once Called to Serve in a Jury Pool for a day, several years ago, -and so Served. I Luckily was *Not* Called in that day to Serve on a Trial! (I was also Releived that I was Called on that Occassion for Civil Trial Possibility, -Not Criminal Law Possibility. For any of you not all that Familiar with the Law, -and I myself am Far from being any kind of Lawyer!, -This means Contract Disputes and the like, -Not Criminal Felonies, Misdemeanors, Sentencing, and the like.). I just sat in the Pool Room all Day! They had a TV, Coffee, and a Vending Machine or two. And Chairs and Tables to sit at. And some Newspapers and Magazines, a la your average Waiting Room. But that was about it! For God's Sake!, -Take along something to Read! Or Crossword Puzzles or Word Searches or something. As Permitted. Certain Reading Material would probably be Prohibited, -while Serveing on Jury Duty. (We've all heard of News Blackouts and the like, -in reference to Juries).And at the End of the Day, _ I too got Paid something like Less than the Pay of a Weed Pulling Kid!, -as Susan mentions. (God I'd Love to be a Weed Puller! In and of itself in its Own Right!). Between watching News Reports of a Hurricane on the TV, and doing whatever Permissable Reading and Writing as I was doing, -I made it thru the Day Long Boring Wait quite Allright!

I once heard or read something on the astonishing Chances *Against* one ever being Summoned to Jury Duty! I forget the particulars, -but suffice it to say they were Astounding! But it Happened to me!

And Fortunately for me, -I had given some good due, "Preparedness Pre-Thought" to it, -over the years, -should I ever someday be so Called. At least you're then not going into it all Totally Blind and Cold!

*Juries Make me Nervous!* As do a Goodly Many other things, -in our otherwise Quite Fine, all round Legal Systems! Not so much in connection with Serving on one, -though that certainly exists too! But More if I ever had to Face one as a Defendant! God Forbid! Especially as an Actually Innocent Defendant! as Good to Great, and Crucially Vital as Juries in many ways actually are!, -They in Many Ways make me Nervous!, as well! They Really can Very Much Decide just the Heck What They Want! This can be Solely in their Own Comforts and Interests!, -and at the Expense of Your's!!! Then there's Further Potential Nightmares!, -such as a Judge's Possible Directed Verdict!

Juries make me a Good Deal Mighty Nervous! But What Else are we gonna do!?, -Not have them!?

An Interesting and Enlightening Civic Duty and Experience for Sure! But I'm Glad I was Called my Just Once! And Hope I am Never Called Again!