Ethics of Jury Service

Laura I Appleman has been posting here about the Quatman affair, where allegations surfaced (and were rejected) that Jews and African-American women were kept off death penalty juries.  Over at Conglomerate, they are discussing a Houston lawyer's challenge to jury pools based on the allegation that jury summons are honored in well-off households and ignored in low-income neighborhoods.  I always liked the point that Tocqueville made: jury service is an invaluable form of civic education and civic participation.  Today, almost every case, civil and criminal, is disposed of before trial.  I've been on the voting rolls since 1978 but have received a grand total of one jury summons.