Actually, the one time I served on a jury I was elected foreman. But,
The first time was in Colorado decades ago. We sat in the jury room and groups of potential jurors were called to various trials. It was a short week (holiday) and when they called my group they excused us all. The defendant had plea bargained to a lessor charge.
The second time was in California, again a number of decades ago. DUI case. The defense attorney was trying the case during jury selection. "The prosecution is going to say that my client was in a part of town that I know none of you would frequent. Can you put that aside and..." They empaneled a jury before they drew my name out of the hat (yes, that's how they did it in Santa Clara County). In the meantime, I was thinking like an engineer and flow charted it quite simply. 1 - at the time of the incident, was the defendant in command of a motor vehicle? If yes, next question. If no, he's innocent, let's go home. 2 - at the time of the incident, was the defendant over the blood alcohol limit? If no, he's innocent, let's go home. If yes, he's guilty, throw the book at him and let's go home. What's all the rest of this nonsense?
The third time as also in California. The first 12 names drawn from the hat wound up being the jury. I was the first. None of us were excused. Once empaneled the judge, or one of the lawyers (I don't remember which) looked at the other two and said, "Do you realize what we just did?" Sounded like they have never empaneled a jury without excusing someone. Anyway, it was a simple eviction for non-payment of rent. A day and a half of testimony. Everyone on the plaintiff's side told the same story. Nobody on the defendant's side told the same story, and the defendant contradicted himself. We retired to deliberate. I was elected foreman. We spent more time eating the donuts the judge left for us in the jury room that we did deliberating. It was open and shut. Boot them out.
The last time was a number of years ago here in Olympia. The judge came to us after we were called into his chambers and apologized for wasting our time. The defendant, once he realized the system was serious about prosecuting him, pled to a lesser charge. The judge indicated that this isn't uncommon. We were dismissed and I went back to work.
The key takeaway I have from these experiences, limited as they are, is that the system is pretty fair. At least, it is where I've lived. It would be difficult to stack a jury and the jurors I've observed seem fairly intelligent. Others may have different experiences.
