You know what gets my patriotic fervor up? You know what I consider to be the most beautiful expression of democracy? You know how to make me get kinda weepy?
Send me a jury report like the one from a juror who was on the Scooter Libby Jury. Hell yeah.
My favorite moment in the report was when the jurors basically agreed to completely ignore the opening and closing statements of both lawyers as hand-waving and not, in any way, "real evidence". In other words they got down to what was real in the case and discarded the rest.
I love stories of thoughtful, free people sitting in a room together doing the best they can to disentagle the complexities of a court case, whether they be supreme court justices or a jury of twelve citizens.
<peanut gallery: rumble rumble grumble segregation era South OJ glove rumble grumble>
Yeah yeah yeah. Okay, quick rejoinders:
1) Segregation South juries were not juries of free people because they did not represent the entire population, just the entrenched white males.
2) The prosecution for the OJ trial was incompetent beyond measure and THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE. I mean, there might have been evidence, if the LA police hadn't screwed up the lab report. The amazing thing about jury reports from that trial was that the jurors felt incredibly guilty about acquitting OJ, because they figured the guy was a lying rat bastard, but there was nothing in the trial that could give them the push they needed beyond reasonable doubt. And that's exactly how it should be.
God love a jury. They are the greatest creative force in a democratic society.
Damn all those to hell who would try to use institutional or legislative powers to try to control, intimidate, or limit them.
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