Jury of your peers
We’ve all heard the statement “jury of your peers”, that is we believe that we will be judged by a jury of our peers if accused of a crime. I wonder where that notion comes from. It’s not in the US Constitution. The Constitution states:
“…an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed…”
That would appear to be a jury of impartial people. Why then does then idea of a jury of our peers permeate society? A jury of our peers would never convict anyone. Think about it. Some people get off sure, but imagine if OJ had a jury of former NFL playing, B-grade movie actors. What if Michael had a jury of face-lifted, bleached skin fading pop stars? Or if Martha had a jury of stock trading towel peddling home fashion divas? How about Scott Peterson having a jury filled with cheating husbands accused of killing their wives who were arrested with $10,000 cash on the way to the Mexican border?
Jury of your peers indeed. The best you can hope for is an impartial jury. Stop saying “jury of your peers” because it doesn’t exist or we would never convict anyone.
