Jury service functions as free civic education producing Americans’ practical political intelligence.

Evidence

The jury contributes most powerfully to form the judgment, and to increase the natural intelligence of a people; and this is, in my opinion, its greatest advantage. It may be regarded as a gratuitous public school ever open, in which every juror learns to exercise his rights… | think that the practical intelligence and political good sense of the Americans are mainly attributable to the long use which they have made of the jury in civil causes. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1452

Categorization

• XREF: Tocqueville’s argument connects to the course’s theme of the jury as a political institution. — connects to: Free spaces let ordinary people become participants in governing decisions; American juries once decided both law and fact, free to ignore judges — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1410

Broader Connections

• Free spaces let ordinary people become participants in governing decisions #expands (0.90)
• American juries once decided both law and fact, free to ignore judges #complicates (0.85) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1410