Who has served on a criminal jury? How was it? What did it make you think about the legal system?

Answer 1

I did, but it was just a traffic violation. The 'reasonable doubt' part made me think that we probably have a lot of guilty people walking around.

Answer 2

i have served, it was a capital murder case, and since then i have become a jailer and have worked closely with criminals before and after their case. serving in the jury made me very uncomfortable knowing i was responsible for this person's future but i knew that i had a service i owed to my community. the legal system lacks consistency, two people charged with the same crime with the same criminal history should receive the same sentence, but its not always the case. my advise to you is, listen and form your own conclusion and dont budge. other jurors will try and convince you differently if yall dont agree. a lot of people go into jury duty and think of it as a waste of time and it is these same people that complain about the legal system. remember, if you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.

Answer 3

I have served on three criminal juries, and they really opened my eyes to our legal system.

On one, a man was charged with attempted second degree murder. The victim claimed he drove by in a car, shot him, then jumped out of the car and started kicking him in the face. However, the defendant claimed someone ELSE shot the guy, not him.

So, we decided that there was reasonable doubt that the defendant shot the victim, but not that he kicked him. So we convicted him on Aggravated Assault instead.

That tought me more about our legal system than any textbook.

Answer 4

I was on a jury for a ClassX felony drug sale. I was fascinated with the way things worked. The defendant didnt deny he sold the drugs just the amount he sold and how far from the school he was. Guilty and got 30 years.

Answer 5

I did. 6 days of tedium. The legal system is slow, but in my experience was thorough.