A person’s right to vote is a basic right. President Lyndon Johnson said, “In our system the first and most vital of all our rights is the right to vote.” An individual’s vote might seem lost in a sea of others’ votes. The smaller the election, the greater the impact of one vote.

In no place is the effect of one vote so great as when the individual is a member of a jury. When Edith Bunker held out as a lone juror for an acquittal, comedy served up a serious act of courage. “All in the Family” and “12 Angry Men” are works of fiction. 

In “To Kill a Mockingbird,” also a work of fiction, 12 white males ignored facts to convict an innocent African-American man of rape. This was a story far more consistent with history and with facts. Percentages show how racial composition of juries is manipulated. 

In Batson v Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986), the Supreme Court held that peremptory challenges, for which a party need not have a reason to strike a prospective juror, cannot be used to exclude on the basis of race. Of course, we cannot inquire into jury deliberations themselves. 

In Indiana only claims of outside influence or juror intoxication open a jury’s deliberations to examination. Our jurors also have latitude that seems unique. Indiana’s current Constitution was written in 1850-51. Article I covers Hoosiers’ Bill of Rights. 

Sec. 19 states: “In all criminal cases whatever, the jury shall have the right to determine the law and the facts.” “Jury nullification” is a theory that jurors can ignore law and vote as they wish. Indiana’s Art. I, § 19 embraces that theory. 

If trump, et al, are indicted/charged, juror nullification is a real concern for prosecutors. Jurors take their oaths and duties seriously. If some enter jury service with ulterior motives, and they answer “correctly,” the questions in voir dire, they are on the jury. 

We have seen and heard a former general officer of the Army say that he thinks we need a coup in this country. Did he lie when he took his oath of office? He pleaded guilty to lying in Court. A jury comprised of supports of the would-be dictator would give oaths short shrift. 

Edith Bunker stood up to people who felt inconvenienced by jury duty. I’m not sure she would be able to stand up to foaming-at-the-mouth right wing zealots. Henry Fonda sure as hell would have tried. Then again, so would Edith. The task seems too great in the face of this racism.