This week, I was called for jury service. And, like in past years, I was dismissed. I think as a general matter, it is not a good idea for a lawyer to serve on a jury. Perhaps in a place like Washington, D.C., where a substantial percentage of the population is an attorney, such service is unavoidable. But at least in Houston, I was the only lawyer on the panel of fifty.

I think it is an even worse idea for a law professor to serve on a jury. The role of the jury is to find facts, not law. Law professors are professionals at conveying the law. I would like to think that I would follow the law exactly as the judge instructed me--indeed, I told the judge I would during voir dire. But I think it would be hard to entirely set aside my views on what the law is.

The bigger problem is that othe

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