r/nottheonion • u/ArgentineBeauty • 19h ago

Reese Witherspoon Chosen as Jury Foreman After Jurors Thought She Went to Law School Because of Legally Blonde

https://www.fashiontimes.co.uk/reese-witherspoon-jury-duty-mix-1763528
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u/c-9 16h ago

I am in STEM and I've been on a few juries. I do it because I take the responsibility seriously. I try to be the person I'd want to be on the jury in case I was on trial. You pretty much have to keep your mouth shut during voir dire.

I was able to convince a jury to acquit a woman. Judging by appearances, she was probably guilty. But our justice system shouldn't operate on prejudice. The burden of proof is on the prosecutor and they didn't make a good case. Innocent until PROVEN guilty, at least beyond a reasonable doubt. Which the prosecution did not meet IMO.

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u/RegulatoryCapture 16h ago

FWIW, I'm a STEMmy person and I've been on a jury where someone from my specific profession actually testified as an expert.

The lawyers hung around to talk to the jury afterwards and I asked about it. The defense wanted me there--to my eye it was a pretty clear emotion vs facts personal injury lawsuit so I can understand why they wanted me. The plaintiffs didn't think I was worth burning a rejection over...figured if their facts were better, I'd side with them--I certainly wasn't some biased juror who would never side with their client and that's who they need to save their challenges for (e.g. someone who doesn't believe in offering pain and suffering damages at all).