Hello Everyone,
I had jury duty today and I couldn't help but reflect upon who a "jury of our peers" is. I looked around and wondered what careers potential jurors have, what level of education they have, and most important if they have problem solving skills and can evaluate the quality of evidence. I hope their teachers were thoughtful and took them to the higher levels of Bloom's taxonomy with objectives and questions. I didn't get selected to serve on a jury . . . I never do! Dr. J.
That's an interesting observation you had on the other jurors. And your absolutely right! One must wonder who your in that room with, what their individual backgrounds are, their thought processes and education. Reminds me of one of my favorite classic movies "12 Angry Men" or should I say "11 Angry Men and 1 Composed, Logical Woman"
ReplyDeleteI have not had jury duty in a while and you reminded me of my last "turn at it". I did the same thing- looking around and wondering what each of the jurors did for a living, could they make a unbiased judgement as a final goal, would they even be able to problem solve with this many people and then even make a decision (so that I could get out and back to work!), and who would represent us in the end among many other questions I had. I ended up getting picked and when I left briefly to go to the restroom, I came back to find out that I was selected as jury foreman no less! Dr. Burns, I need to know your secret to not getting chosen! It did turn out to be a three day process of problem solving and almost a "hung jury"; mainly due to our very different backgrounds and life experiences. A lesson well learned by me back then!
ReplyDeleteI prayed to the jury gods that I never have jury duty. It is very scary thought that you might have a 50/60/70 year old women or man that has a 6th grade education along with people with a PHD to determine guilty or not. With all the crinmal justice shows on prime time t.v such as first 48,Bones,and CSI LA people get a false sence of justice. I think jury duty is a joke no one wants to be there and most people go with the majority so they can go home such a false hope. The criminal justice system in the United States needs to be reformed it lacks the focus of "Justice".
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