I was on a grand jury a few years ago. I'm SOOOO glad I participated. By the end of my stint I was handing out grand jury reform propaganda.
Seriously though. I think I made a difference. There was one case in which a man had been found sleeping in the bed of an old broken down pick up on a farm, and when the police rousted him, they of course searched him and found a dime of crack. The man said it wasn't his he didn't do drugs.... duh. So the cops charged him with posession with intent to distribute. Since he didn't do drugs, he obviously intended to sell it.
Everyone wanted to string the guy up. They wanted us to vote to send the case to trial with those charges. I argued with my fellow grand jurors that this was a trumped up charge. They still went through with it, but I changed a few minds.
Go. You could help someone. Plus you'll be able to say you were on a jury.
Welcome Home Mister_Niles. We've Been Waiting For You.
"Don't worry. When it happens, you won't be able to not let it do its thing. You won't have the ability to distinguish a pen from a hippopotamus"
- Art Van D'lay