While I appreciate your faith in the US legal system, 27 years of living in the USA gave me ample evidence that even if it were possible to assemble 12 jurors who were impartial and wanted to judge a case only on the data presented, the defense and prosecution lawyers would ensure this did not occur.

Aside from the fact the US justice system is broken beyond redemption, and that most abuses commence long before a case comes to trial (police misbehavior, racial bias, DA political influence, undisclosed evidence, inaccurate forensics, etc.) the hard fact is that no trial lawyer wants thoughtful intelligent jurors who will weigh the evidence. What they want is the stereotypical retired white woman who watches TV all day and believes what she sees there. Because this juror is so easily manipulated.

Remember, it’s not about the truth in a courtroom — it’s all about what you can get the jury to favor as their belief.

Speaking from personal experience, early on in my 27 years I was talking to a trial lawyer friend about my willingness to serve on a jury. He laughed and said, “You’ll never serve. You’re a highly educated articulate white male with a science degree. You’re the very last person any trial lawyer would want on a jury.” And in 27 years, I never served. Not once. Every time I went through the process of jury selection I was struck out by one or other of the trial lawyers, using their right to pre-emptive challenge. Because I would have assessed facts, weighed probabilities, and not taken statements at face value — especially emotionally manipulative statements.

So good luck with your own experiences, which hopefully may differ from mine, but don’t be surprised if you find the entire system is little more than a cynical game. In the USA the surface is never indicative of the reality beneath.