The right to a trial by jury was designed to be part of "the heart and lungs of liberty," enshrined into the Constitution to protect people "against being ridden like horses, fleeced like sheep, worked like cattle, and fed and clothed like swine and hogs," according to John Adams.
It is, in theory, still supposed to do that. But the Founders would likely be dismayed by the ways in which the government has watered down that right since their passing.
