Most Americans will never serve on a jury — in fact, most won’t even be summoned. The National Center for State Courts estimates that in any year, only about .09% of the population is called for jury duty, and yet somehow most New Yorkers will tell you they’ve gone at least once.
I was called three times in my 20s and 30s. One of the cases involved a suspect who took off during a traffic stop, with the cop’s arm stuck in the window, dragging him for blocks. During voir dire, the defense attorneys wanted to know if any potential jurors would be overly sympathetic to cops.
