In my experience, twelve jurors tend to balance out in terms of biases and beliefs. But I guess you guys know more than a judge and jury...
...based on your review of the slanted, half-truths told by news media. Your opinions mean NOTHING, of no value whatsoever if that's all you got.
Jim
I have never handled a criminal matter but I know a thing or two about judges and juries.
I read and watched news reports on Chauvin. That's of limited value--my comments are intended to be general.
Back to judges and juries.
The quality of juror has gone down significantly over the last 25 years. I blame social media. People are dumber but think, because of social media, that they are smarter and better informed. Not true. People are less objective and rationale. They are more easily swayed and riled up--like on social media. You can see this in the nuclear civil verdicts. Note that I much prefer rural juries but the same comments apply.
The quality of judge has gone down significantly. When I started the practice, I appeared before Judges who served in WW2 and Korea. Real serious men. Being a judge was an honorable position. Now, the bench has plenty of bad lawyers, now judges, who could not cut it in private practice.
Most importantly, objectively true facts do not matter anymore. Too many have a skewed view of reality and will not believe what is obviously true. Again, I blame social media.
We try cases differently than we did 10 years ago--because of these basic but significant ways that people have changed.
Judges and juries still get it right but can get it wrong--that's why we have appellate courts and things like the Innocence Project.
Whether they got it wrong with Chauvin, I don't know. I tend to think the jury was influenced by the societal implications of an acquittal. But I wasn't in the courtroom.
Despite all of the societal problems bleeding into the judicial system, it's still a system we need to have and protect.