It is absolutely terrifying. You know how they say you should never see how a sausage is made? Well, my friends, better a thousand sausages than any of the workings of this foundational piece of the criminal justice system – the best method of dispensing fairness we have been able to invent, and upon which the fates of uncountable millions of accused, their accusers and silent victims have depended.What is this show? Well, it's Channel 4’s The Jury: Murder Trial, where not one but two juries are attending the same (dramatised) trial, in ignorance that the other exists. And since I'm due to take up a second stint at jury service in early April, I thought I'd better tune in and see what ten years had wrought on the average member of the public.
And...all I can say is I really hope that the members of both juries have been selected the way all such reality shows are usually selected, with an eye to drama. Because what I saw was nothing like my experience (of careful and sober juries), which fully understood the rules and more importantly, what we were really there to do.
Is this typical of modern juries? I'm going to find out soon, aren't I?
2 comments:
I smell feminists at work. They've been gunning for the jury system for years simply because it doesn't give them their desired level of convictions (100%). I guess we're supposed to look at these clowns on TV and decide we'd be better off giving the job to a bunch of blue-haired weirdoes with stupid piercings.
"I smell feminists at work. "
You're probably not wrong. I guess I'll see if it's influenced my fellow jurors soon enough.
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