Ever since Tocqueville, American scholars, patriots and judicial officials all the way up to Supreme Court Justices have cited trial by jury as one of the cornerstones of American democracy. Juries prevent society’s most important decisions from falling into the hands of a narrow, self-interested elite. Juries bring common sense to a legal system that might otherwise become enmeshed in its own technicalities and obscurities. Juries ensure that an individual caught in the web of the justice system will ultimately be judged by his or her peers. As Supreme Court Justice William Kennedy put it in a recent decision, “With the exception of voting, for most citizens the honor and privilege of jury duty is their most significant opportunity to participate in the democratic process.”