\\\"the Benefits of Trial By Jury...\\\"
Declaration of Independence

A commentary on the Kriho verdict
What are the Benefits of Trial by Jury?
The right to an \\\"impartial jury\\\" should not be construed to exclude the right of informed and knowledgeable jurors. The benefits of trial by jury are undoubtably the ability of the accused to place the government and the law on trial during their prosecution. The jury selection process should not be engineered to limit knowlegable jurors. Consider the questions by Judge Barnhill:
	\\\"Would all of you agree to follow my instructions on the law even if you don\\\'t agree with them or you don\\\'t think that they are what the law is or should be? People sometimes have a little different attitude about what the law should be than what it really is. What I need from you is a commitment that you will follow my instructions even if you don\\\'t agree with them. And you all agree to do that?\\\"
\\\"...follow my instructions on the law even if you don\\\'t agree...\\\" Restricting an individual\\\'s eligibility to serve on a jury based solely on their opinion about the law flies in the face of the First Amendment and the spirit of the Declaration of Independence. And, to some, such questioning could be considered \\\"obstruction of justice\\\" by denying the benefit of trial by jury. Barnhill continues:
	\\\"If the jury can, as a matter of right, acquit in the face of contrary evidence and law, could they not also convict flying in the face of evidence and law? A system which allows jurors, as a matter of right, to pick and choose among the rules of law which they will apply, has extremely dangerous implications...\\\"
The jury should NOT have the right \\\"to pick and choose among the rules of law\\\" any more than the court may \\\"pick and choose\\\" jurors who will secure a conviction for the government. Freedom and privacy of thought should be protected during voir dire. The defendant commands the right to have a jury apply the law in accordance with their own informed and unrestricted and free conscience.

This is the benefit of trial by jury.

And is rapidly fading...

Commentary by Jonathan Craft