Principled rejection
I was summoned for jury duty today, which necessitated getting up about 90 minutes before my alarm normally goes off in the morning. The one trial in the offing was a criminal case, and the defendant faced a slew of charges, one of which was dissemination of harmful material to a minor. When I was asked if there was any reason why I wouldn't be able to serve impartially on the jury, I explained that I didn't see how showing someone art would merit sending them to jail. If no one went to prison for showing kids Passion Of The Christ (and no one should), then no one should go to prison for showing another person porn . The judge asked if I could follow the law, regardless of my beliefs, and said that I could not. He then excused me.
i had not expected jury duty to play out like that. While the timing would have been inconvenient, and the case sounded depressing, I was ready and willing to serve. The rest of the charge are quite serious, and the case will, I'm sure, require jurors like me. But, if the prosecution's other charges all fell apart, there was no way I was going to convict someone solely for smutty pictures.
i had not expected jury duty to play out like that. While the timing would have been inconvenient, and the case sounded depressing, I was ready and willing to serve. The rest of the charge are quite serious, and the case will, I'm sure, require jurors like me. But, if the prosecution's other charges all fell apart, there was no way I was going to convict someone solely for smutty pictures.