Jury service a small, critical sacrifice

Editor's Note: New 329th District Court Judge Randy Clapp has agreed to write a regular column for Wharton County's newspapers. This is the first.

Sometimes we take for granted the price of freedom. We often see jury trials on TV and in the movies.

Many assume that jury trials are a part of "justice" worldwide (except for a few backward countries). Nothing could be farther from the truth!

The right to a trial by jury is a unique part of what makes the United States so different from the rest of the world.

It is an integral part of the "great experiment" in liberty our founding fathers envisioned, and which has helped produce the greatest nation the world has ever seen.

Jury trials were abolished in Germany by the government on Jan. 4, 1924. Jury trials were abolished by the government of India in 1960. In Belgium, one can only have a jury trial when charged with a violent crime.

There has been no right to a jury trial in Japan since 1943. Even in the United Kingdom (where trial by jury originated), our voir dire system of examining the jury pool to eliminate biased jurors is generally not permitted.

There is no right to a jury trial in Mexico. The trial does not even take place in a courtroom! An accused on trial for a criminal felony in Mexico never appears in court and never sees the judge. The entire trial is conducted by paperwork submitted to the judge.

I know, because I participated in such a case in Mexico. AM Page 1 It lasted 96 days in federal court, and neither the accused nor the witnesses who testified ever saw the judge!

His verdict was simply issued on paper.

I assume that this federal judge really exists, but having

never seen him, I am not certain. If you ever anger a policeman while on vacation in Cancun, or have a car wreck while driving in Europe, your chances of having a jury of your peers decide your fate is virtually nil. In this country, it is guaranteed!

This system only works properly if the people who are our "peers" actually show up for jury duty when called. That means you and me. Imagine who among the citizens of Wharton County you would have decide your fate if you were sued over a car wreck not your fault, or charged with a crime you did not commit. Who will show up?

If you are reading this and have ever wondered how you (or your employees) could avoid jury service, you have done a great disservice to your fellow citizens and to your country.

We who enjoy the fruits of liberty and justice in this great nation must always be willing to make sacrifices to preserve those benefits for our posterity.

Jury service is a small sacrifice, but it is a very important one.

It is among the most signifi- cant contributions an individual can make in our free land. Please keep that in mind the next time you receive a jury summons.

My next article will provide some details regarding the rules and logistics of jury service.