I value the juror’s perspective in Steve Duin’s most recent column, “Three Days in the Life of a Multnomah County Juror: Steve Duin column, Nov. 23,” which detailed an utterly ineffective mechanism for deciding matters through jury trials. The juror believed that his time was not being used to further justice, therefore he made a significant time commitment that took him away from his personal and professional commitments.
I would want to draw attention to the fact that only a small percentage of criminal and civil cases go to trial; the great majority are settled before trial. Although the juror in Duin’s piece and many others may believe that their participation was a waste of money, it offers tremendous value by encouraging the prompt resolution of numerous other cases before trial. For instance, fifteen cases were scheduled for trial during the week of the juror’s service. Jurors who were willing to consider those instances if they hadn’t been resolved helped to resolve the majority.
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