If you hate how this jury ruled

[KharmaTrain]

9. One Of The Most Fascinating Experiences In My Life...

...a little over a decade ago I served on a federal jury in a rather high profile case. I initially tried to fight the summons to appear but then decided "what the hell, I'll find a way to get disqualified" and, to my surprise, was chosen to serve on a jury. To my surprise I learned a lot about the judicial system and how our system of laws operate...an education that I highly recommend to everyone. There are many mindsets you take in the situation; doing one's best to be impartial and objective and to read and interpret laws. It's also a unique personal experience as you share this experience with 15 other people (this was a panel of 12 jurors & 3 alternates)...total strangers you get to know more and more about as the trial progresses. It's a dynamic that has a lot of influence when it comes time to reach verdicts. Overall you get a healthy respect for how the judicial system works and an insight into the unique situation these jurors faced as "finders of fact". Unfortunately that "finding" can be unpopular as in this case.

In the Zimmerman case, I'm far more critical of a DA's office that was reluctant to investigate and bring charges in the first place and did a piss pour job in prosecuting the case along with laws written so opaquely it enabled Zimmernan's lawyers to turn it into a trial about Trayvon.