In America today, joining the jury isn’t just a civic duty. It’s an ethical one.

I served as a juror for about three weeks this past winter, and I am extremely proud of the experience. I voiced my opinion, listened to others, and was surprised to learn that I enjoyed the legal process.

The regional jury system can potentially impact national legislation. According to Patrick Martin, the Jury Commissioner in Philadelphia for the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania, local case decisions can make legislators, corporations, and attorneys aware of regional sentiments. In an interview, he told me that Philadelphia’s larger cases can attract attention because they signal larger trends by showing where the jurors’ minds are. And “the dollar amount is informational,” he says of the financial settlements.

There are a lot of cases requiring jurors in Philadelphia: in 2024, 65 percent of the 976 juror-required cases in Philly went to trial. So our courts need you!

A new appreciation for the system

On January 30, 2025, I was selected for an 11-day wrongful-death suit. My fellow jurors represented different ages, races, genders, and classes. We had a butcher, a minister/social worker, a bank worker, an analyst, retirees, a teacher, and a paramedic. Some were married. Some were parents. Some were single. You'd think we wouldn't get along, but we formed a tight-knit bunch. During lunchtime, we played card games and alternated bringing food for the room. One woman knitted me a scarf, another gave me a ride home, and I met two for brunch.

While the group disagreed during deliberation, we took the judge’s advice to heart. We listened to each other and let our personal ethics guide us, but we stayed open to change. I was shocked when most of the white men were more sympathetic to the minority female plaintiff than the other women were.

Our court officers were amazing. Shout-out to the incredibly helpful jury room handlers as well as the velvet-voiced announcers, Tonya Covington and Joe Rogers. I left appreciating the legal system as well as contemplating law classes and volunteering as a court advocate at WOAR (don’t forget that non-profits need your donations, especially organizations that support survivors of domestic violence).

The systemic benefits of serving

Jury duty helps us hear voices from voiceless communities and could offset damage at the federal level. In an unusual federal move, the Department of Energy is trying to dismantle a section of the 1972 civil-rights law known as Title IX, which could remove sexual discrimination protections in federally funded schools. The Department of Justice has already restricted grants that assist sexual abuse survivors. This means victims who do make it to court need impartial jurors more than ever.

Your participation can also contribute to a more diverse jury pool. While DEI programs have been dismantled in many US-based corporations and colleges, the Equal Justice Initiative, the Columbia University Undergraduate Law Review, and Stanford's SPARQ behavioral science center have all explained that diverse juries make better decisions. In 1953, Avery v. Georgia revealed the historic process of excluding Black people from jury selection.

Unfortunately, this lack of diversity continues today in regard to both race and gender. In 2021, 82 percent of the judges on the Southern Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals were white, as were 95 percent of elected prosecutors nationwide. On juries, a gender imbalance likewise persists. Women are less likely to be chosen as a foreperson. The average foremen are typically “white, educated males." In both of the juries I have served on, white men were chosen to lead the room.

So serving on juries isn't just a civic duty; it's an ethical one. Forty percent of Americans are not white, yet that is rarely represented on juries.

Juries impact numerous parts of our regional experience. There are criminal cases, civil rights cases, corporate negligence, antitrust cases, landlord issues, date swindling, and more. Not only will you help your fellow citizens, but your decision could resonate on the regional and national levels. The current federal administration is setting fire to our legal system. We need juries and local government to keep the wheels of justice greased, to help protect us all.