We the Jury

Lehman, who has published articles on jurors' rights, is a firm believer in the ability of juries to render impartial verdicts based on their collective conscience. In this engrossing and well-researched study, he details 12 U.S. and English court cases to demonstrate the jury's power to preserve our basic liberties. For example, in 1735 a randomly chosen jury agreed with Alexander Hamilton's defense of journalist Peter Zenger against libel charges and affirmed freedom of the press. Minority rights were protected in 1925 when an all-white jury acquitted Ossian Sweet, an African American who had purchased a house in a white neighborhood, of conspiracy; and other jury verdicts advanced the cause of women's suffrage. Lehman shows that lawyers who pack juries with biased individuals are interfering with justice. He argues against the use of jury consultants and charges that requiring perspective jurors to complete lengthy questionnaires not only is an invasion of privacy but also may lead to tainted verdicts. (Aug.)