We the Jury: The Impact of Jurors on Our Basic Freedoms: Great Jury Trials of History

Your worst nightmare: twelve jurors stand between you and a miscarriage of justice, and none of them have read this book. Few doubt that America's judicial system is one of the fairest, but we all agree it has problems. Sometimes it must enforce unjust laws, or administer laws in ways that seem inherently unfair. In criminal cases, each participant has his or her proper role: the government prosecutes, the lawyer for the accused defends, the judge referees, and the jury renders aa decision. But few realize the extraordinary power juries have to take control of court proceedings gone wrong, to undo miscarriages of justice, and help preserve the liberties we hold so dear. In We the Jury ... judicial history student and veteran juror Godfrey D. Lehman has compiled 12 cases from England and the U.S. in which jurors have taken it upon themselves, as a matter of conscience, to nullify or overturn horrific laws that endangered our freedoms. Lehman shows how the concept of jury nullification has been effectively used to protect freedom of assembly and expression, to confront racial prejudice, to protect fair housing, to acknowledge the rights of minorities, to further voting rights, and much more. But now, he warns, this judicial safety valve is jeopardized by consultants who aid attorneys in selecting jurors, by a secretive court process that excludes information from jurors, and by legislators who would restrict the power of juries. We the Jury ... is a wake-up call and a must read for historians, lawyers, judges, and, of course, all prospective jurors.