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It Was A Great Essay, But... Ann Rind?!?!

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KevinDW78

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Nothing to win. You're not going to convince that other juror that you're right because that'd mean he is wrong, and 10 other people there is not a wide enough audience to have a real expectation that one of them will go 'Well, this guy's pretty passionate, and I agree with what he said.' If Prosperity was on Television, or before a big audience, I'd say there'd be some use to confronting the confused man.

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It's not that you're trying to win, but by remaining silent, everyone in the room "accepted" it. Just letting people know that not everyone thinks that way, or putting a new idea in someone's head is all it takes.

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It's not that you're trying to win, but by remaining silent, everyone in the room "accepted" it. Just letting people know that not everyone thinks that way, or putting a new idea in someone's head is all it takes.

Ayn Rand said something to this effect. I don't have the reference at hand, but it was along the lines of "How do you survive in an irrational society?" SPEAK. Don't sit silently while others spout nonsense. You're under no obligation to speak if there is a threat of force against you, but if you are free to speak you must (morally) at least say "I disagree". This avoids what others have mentioned about tacit approval.

(BTW, "you" here is the generic pronoun and applies to me as well; I'm not picking on anyone personally.)

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Ayn Rand said something to this effect. I don't have the reference at hand, but it was along the lines of "How do you survive in an irrational society?" SPEAK. Don't sit silently while others spout nonsense. You're under no obligation to speak if there is a threat of force against you, but if you are free to speak you must (morally) at least say "I disagree". This avoids what others have mentioned about tacit approval.

(BTW, "you" here is the generic pronoun and applies to me as well; I'm not picking on anyone personally.)

Well, his comment was a bit off topic as we had been there 3 days and I just wanted it to be over.

Actually, the whole situation was quite hostile. Every other juror was yelling at me because I wouldn't find the man guilty. Under the circumstances, there was no evidence of his guilt. It was one person's word against the other. The judge wanted us to rule based on character because there were not enough facts to analyze and that the facts surrounding the incident could not prove anything.

The jurors were also arguing about what the term "reasonable doubt" meant. It was ridiculous. So there was more than just the "you can't be certain of anything" comment.

Since the man had been arrested for drug possession a year or two ago, this was apparently all that was necessary for most people to find him guilty of an unrelated crime he was accused of.

In the end, it was a hung jury, and I let each and every one of those jurors know that there were holes in the prosecution's case and that without a motive or any rational reason why this individual would commit this particular crime, I was not going to convict.

What really bothered me was one of the female jurors saying that "the defense hasn't proven himself innocent" - which I DID NOT stay silent for. I still cannot believe that EVERY other juror agreed with her. :(

I let her know that THAT was a perversion of justice and that HE didn't have to prove his innocence. That in this country we are innocent until proven guilty. The only response I got was, and I am paraphrasing, "well, it's a nice thought but when my kids do something wrong, they never fess up...I know you are supposed to assume they didn't do it, but the reality of the situation is they are guilty. So sometimes you have to assume they are guilty and punish them until they do fess up". I told her I felt sorry for her children. I was called every name in the book, and nearly everyone told me I was "too idealistic". I didn't budge. I didn't have to.

They were, well, irritated to say the least. I thought it was a victory for O'ism. I hope I left an impression on them.

The real problem, I discovered, is that in a court of law you are not asked to analyze whether the situation makes sense or whether the law makes sense. In short, you told not to think. The law is the law, and you are supposed to just make a determination as to whether the individual broke the law or not.

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Wow, David, that is a great story. Good for you!

I don't think it's a great story. It's a living nightmare, and I'm quite scared of the prospect of being accused of anything for any reason. I cannot believe that every single one of those people acted the way they did. Is this the exception or the rule?

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It was the opposite situation for me when I served. Everyone was very rational and reasonable (and the evidence against the guy left no doubt at all, even of the reasonable variety.) One lady, though, made a little stink about it. We went over the most obvious evidence and she quickly conceded. When we got to the penalty phase, it was unanimous nearly immediately. This guy had raped a pregnant woman and viciously robbed several other people (and shot two in the process, although not fatally), so it was not hard to give him a life sentence. But, this was in Texas where, except for their religion, many people still seem to have a shred of common sense and independence.

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I don't think it's a great story. It's a living nightmare, and I'm quite scared of the prospect of being accused of anything for any reason. I cannot believe that every single one of those people acted the way they did. Is this the exception or the rule?

Remember the OJ murder trial...

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