The jury system has literally been around for millennia. Early Greek democracy included citizen juries; our modern system has its roots in medieval England. The fundamental idea was that fairness could be better achieved if a group of one’s peers in the community had input into the final decision of the court and could advise the judge according to their deliberations.
When you think about it, getting twelve random citizens to agree on any subject might be quite a challenge, and thus the notion of the “burden of proof” came into being. It’s not enough for someone to accuse someone else of breaking the law, even law enforcement agencies themselves; they must be able to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. That’s a high bar that has allowed respect for the court system to continue even through controversial and unpopular decisions.
Which brings us to the most recent controversial court decision, the conviction of Donald Trump on all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to influence the 2016 Presidential election.
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