Introduction

The American public episodically shows deep concern about jury errors. This concern emerges from time to time despite the relative rarity that an offender, even if arrested, will be held accountable for his criminal act before a jury: only 5 percent of all felony arrests end up in the judgment of a jury (Brown, Langan and Levin, 1999; Hart and Reaves, 1999). Public concern over jury errors is nonetheless legitimate, even if it derives principally from the handful of high-stakes jury trials that become public spectacles. These cases typically involve serious crimes; they serve as civics lessons. They shape what prospective offenders and criminal justice officials come to expect would happen, for better or for worse, should they find themselves involved in a jury trial. Regardless of the accuracy of these perceptions, the legitimacy of our criminal justice system is undermined when it is widely believed that juries are unreliable arbiters of guilt and innocence.