Trial by jury has come a long way. In the past a man had to be judged by the government rather than a jury of his peers. It all started with Thomas Jefferson and the Framers of the Constitution. Thanks to them, we have the right to a speedy and public trial by jury of our peers. Trial by jury is very important nevertheless some men and women don't see its importance.
             Juries were once called the "twelve good men", but today that name makes no sense for the reason that a jury no longer needs to consist of 12 men. Today, a jury may include women as well. Today there are cases that a jury of twelve is not needed. The number of juror can go as low as six members. Verdicts are no longer required to be unanimous; it is based on a majority of votes. Racial and sexual discrimination was an issue before, but today we have laws protecting minorities like myself. If I were to ever be discriminated the Civil Rights Act of 1875 makes that a criminal offense.
             Being summoned for jury duty is something many think of as a nightmare. Some think of it as a way that the government can taunt them, but the government does not pick on anyone in particular, the members are usually randomly chosen. The government randomly selects members through the use of a telephone directory, driver's license or voter's registration rolls just to name a few.
             There are a lot of talk about people thinking of jury duty as an inconvenience and a squander of their precious time. I can in some way agree that time spent sitting is better off making money. This is one major reason people do not like jury duty is because they must take time off from work forfeiting a portion of their paycheck. On the contrary to this, there are certain jurisdictions that make it a law for business owners to pay the individuals who miss work for jury duty.
             Time is such a precious thing to have. Jury duty comes up and throws all your plans out the w...