The Zimmerman Jury Is Better Able to Judge His Fate Than You [View all]

[davidpdx]

Last edited Sat Jul 13, 2013, 02:33 AM - Edit history (1)

I'm posting this to share as I think it's interesting. We all have opinions in the case, though as the author reminds us, we have not seen the specific evidence as the jury has.


A short while ago, the jury in the trial of George Zimmerman was handed the case. Zimmerman's fate is now entirely in the hands of the six women selected to consider the evidence. When the verdict is returned, whatever it happens to be, there's one thing that's important to remember: Those women know more than you.

Here's what I mean by that. No matter how much of the trial you watched on CNN, those jurors almost certainly saw more of the evidence than you did. They held documents in their hands. They saw what the witnesses—and Zimmerman—were doing while not on camera. They were excluded from hearing evidence that the judge deemed inappropriate or inadmissible. They have been instructed on the specific components of the law. And, most important, they are the only ones who know what arguments are being used to persuade each other to reach a unanimous decision.

Each of these things is an important part of the process of a criminal trial; I'll break out why below. But again: While we can watch the trial through the keyhole provided by CNN, we should never convince ourselves that we know better than the people in that room.

This is admittedly personal. For much of the year 2009, I sat as a juror on a well-publicized trial in New York City. Thousands of people each year sit on juries, of course, but few sit on ones that last a long time and are the subject of intense scrutiny. And in few—including the one in my experience—are the repercussions as high as in the case presented to these six women.

Continue reading: http://news.yahoo.com/zimmerman-jury-better-able-judge-fate-162313256.html

Ps-Before posting knee jerk responses like #14, please read what I've said in the thread. I didn't state my opinion in the OP simply because I wanted people to think about it.