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America enjoys the current trial-by-jury system thanks to a longstanding legal tradition dating back to merry, old England. You need look no further than the U.S. Constitution and the Sixth Amendment to find where are all citizens are called upon to do their "civic duty." In the interest of a fair and speedy trial in criminal prosecutions, defendants are entitled to stand before an impartial jury of their peers from the "vicinage" or the neighborhood where the crime happened. In
order for a prosecution and defense team to select a group of 12 unbiased citizens, they must go through a process known as voir dire, which means "to speak the truth." During the process, each side grills prospective jurors and is allowed a limited number of preemptory challenges toward the other teams' selections with no reasoning required. If a possible juror reflects any sort of bias due to previous experiences, opinions, or even religious beliefs, he or she can be excluded from the panel. Jurors can also be excused if to serve would cause "undue hardship." So by the very nature of an impartial jury, no one is required by law to actually serve on a jury. That said, our constitution does require us to answer the call
to serve, whether or not we are selected. Failure to appear for jury duty is a punishable offence, and depending on the local laws, can result in a fine, incarceration, or both. Fueled by a recent study showing that on average 20% of Americans fail to respond to a call to serve, the American Legislative Exchange Council penned a prototype bill called the Jury Patriotism Act designed to make jury duty more rewarding and more difficult to shirk.
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