jury selection

     The system of jury selection is theoretically a way to choose 12 people at random to render a verdict in a trial. In reality, the system is far from random. No one can sit on a jury if he or she has been a victim of a crime in the past several years. No one can sit on a jury if a close relative or friend had been a victim of  a crime. No one can sit on a jury in a capital case unless he or she has already decided--before anyone utters a word of legal argument, or produces any evidence--that the death penalty would be a good idea.  Other people are "usually" dismissed from juries--teachers, lawyers, law enforcement officials, and some other occupations or professions.
     Every one of these exceptions make the jury less representative of the public at large, which it should be, since that's what gives it legitimacy. It's why we respect a jury's decisions. Decisions made by juries fine-tuned by lawyers are decisions made by lawyers--not by a group of 12 citizens.