Serving on a jury is one of the highest civic contributions that a person can give to their community.  Serving on a jury can also be a way of familiarizing yourself with the justice system in this country.  Thousands of years ago, Africans were the first people to utilize a court system whereby a jury would decide the outcome of the case.  We should be proud of this heritage.
           

Every individual in the United States, irrespective of race, religion, sex, national origin, or economic status, is suppose to be “guaranteed the right to trial by an impartial jury of their peers.”

There have been many important Civil Rights court cases which were fought to allow women and African-Americans to sit on juries.  Now that we have obtained this right, many of our people do not wish to serve on juries.  As a result, African-Americans are disproportionately represented in criminal cases, and it is of the utmost importance that African-Americans serve on juries to try to help make the criminal process fair.  If the jury is not an accurate reflection of the make up of our community, then justice may not prevail, and collectively African-Americans will surely suffer.

Jury duty is a privileged duty of citizenship in this country.  In order to be summoned as a juror, you must be registered to vote.  Currently, Beaufort County is approximately 30% African-American.  Therefore, the jury pool make-up should be reflective of the racial or ethnic composition of registered voters in the county.

The next time a jury summons arrives in your mailbox, you should feel privileged that you have the opportunity to serve on the jury.  You should be fair, honest, and do what you think is right.  You should take the time to listen closely at the evidence.  Try to place yourself in the shoes of the parties and do for them what you would want someone to do for you if you were similarly situated.  That day in court is the Plaintiff’s or Defendant’s opportunity to have their case heard before a fair and reasonable body of citizens who reside in the county.

It is imperative that we serve on juries so that ordinary people in the community can decide legal cases involving guilt or innocence or issues of liability and damages.  We must believe that ordinary citizens can make the right decision, and we must serve on juries to try and effectuate fairness and justice in the legal system.