On jury duty this month, I’ve had plenty of time to reflect on the meaning of the 1957 film “12 Angry Men.” Law schools still use the 60-year-old courtroom drama about a biased and easily swayed jury as a teaching tool. The question remains: Does the movie prove or disprove Mark Twain’s characterization of trial by jury as “the most ingenious and infallible agency for defeating justice that human wisdom could contrive”? Jurors are all too human, something the ancient Greeks tried to mitigate by allowing some jury panels...

Source: Wall Street Journal January 11, 2017 16:20 UTC