This is an essay I wrote for a scholarship. What are your thoughts on this? “The founders considered the right of trial by jury in civil cases an important bulwark against tyranny and corruption, a safeguard too precious to be left to the whim of the sovereign. Juries represent laymen’s common sense and keep the administration of law in accord with the feelings of the community.” – William H. Renquist Ask any person today what they think of jury duty and you are guaranteed to find the majority wishing that they had never heard of such a thing. It is an inconvenience. In 1787, people jumped at the opportunity to take an active role in the government. Nowadays most could care less about this right perhaps out of apathy, but most likely out of a failure to grasp the momentous importance of the right to trial by jury. The United States Constitution is arguably the greatest statement of man’s rights and liberties ever known. Etched forever in the memory of the world are three words that shaped a nation’s destiny; “We the People.” Imbedded in these words is the very foundation of our rights and liberties. As the cornerstone of the civil justice system, the jury embodies the words, “We the People.” It is the citizens of the United States who are the unspoken fourth component of the checks and balances system. The entire foundation of the United States is founded on the idea that the people are who are in control. Without the right to trial by jury, our rights are open to violation because it takes out the most crucial check on the government, which are the people. The jury is part of that foundation; it protects citizens from oppression by the government. The right to trial by jury is so critical that the Constitution was almost not ratified because it did not guarantee that right. Justice Hugo Black summed it up nicely when he said, “Our duty to preserve the Seventh Amendment is a matter of high Constitutional importance. The founders of our country thought that trial by civil jury was an essential bulwark of civil liberty and it must be scrupulously safeguarded." The purpose of the jury is to weigh and question the facts to reach a justified result. In civil cases, the strength of the jury empowers democracy and maintains loyalty to the principles of justice that this country was founded upon. Without it, we would unintentionally open ourselves to corruption, negligence and the unwitting erosion of our rights and liberties.