The Art of Advocacy

Those who cherish the jury system do so with the full recognition that juries composed of mere mortals are not perfect. We take the good with the bad, always trying to improve. For example in civil cases we now have juries composed of six citizens as opposed to the traditional twelve.

I am grateful that the Abell Foundation has shed new light on the outcome of jury cases in Baltimore City, as reported in yesterday’s Baltimore Sun. But I take issue with the suggestion that we in Maryland create regional juries. Even if the concept were attainable by overcoming legal hurtles, such juries would smack of the same "court packing" attributable to FDR when he proposed that Congress add a tenth justice to the US Supreme Court. President Roosevelt considered the Supreme Court Justices to be in error when they persistently ruled against him.

We must remember our system of government is composed of federal, state and local governments. In Maryland we have twenty-three counties and Baltimore City. Each county and city has its own local laws and customs. The defendants are entitled to juries who live in the community in which the trial unfolds. Those who say that in some counties juries are more likely to convict than juries in Baltimore City seem to write with a preconceived notion that many of those found not guilty are, in fact, guilty. Each case, however, must be judged on its own merits. Perhaps in the city cases, the prosecution did not have the evidence to persuade or were not as experienced as prosecutors in the other counties.

Although I do not believe that we should create regional juries, we should be ever conscious of enhancing the already refined methods of educating new jurors. We should also take steps to assure their confidence in their safety. And, we should let them know they have our respect for the serious work they do and sacrifice they make to serve the public and our democratic way of life.