What's Gone Wrong With Jury Duty?

Today, in the first of a two part series, Findlaw columnist Vikram David Amar discusses what's gone wrong with the American jury system. After some interesting historical background, Amar lists several of the current perceived (at least) problems with jury service. One of the silent crises of modern America is how anyone with a pulse will do anything to get out of serving on a jury ("Tell 'em your prejudiced against all races and all religions." - Homer Simpson). But the system only works if everyone who is eligible does their part. It's sort of like voting - most people don't do it, but they're more than happy to bitch about the results. Similarly, a lot of people who bitch about big jury awards in personal injury cases or why so-and-so "got away with" some crime will be more than happy to weasel out of jury service themselves.