(September 7, 2015 at 3:03 am)Wyrd of Gawd Wrote:(September 7, 2015 at 1:19 am)Minimalist Wrote: The point is these cases do not get to juries most of the time.That's why the system is so corrupt. The politicians and bankers run the drug trade. The cops and prosecutors are their henchmen. The prosecutors intimidate the defendants with a harsh sentence and so he pleas out to fifth-degree felony possession of marijuana and gets three years probation with maybe 120 days in jail and a small fine. If I was on the jury I would have voted not guilty.
But the vast majority of cases never get near a jury. BTW, I've served on juries and so I have a fairly negative view of my fellow citizens, too. But more jury trials would at least impose a financial burden on the prosecutors. In fact, the system might well grind to a halt.
