CSotD: What peer pressure?
Skip to comments
Today's Free Range is, on the one hand, rather silly. And we like that around here.
And, on the other hand, there is a serious point about the concept of "a jury of your peers." I suppose, in the days of Magna Carta (a few years ago, we stopped saying "the Magna Carta," for reasons that have never been explained to me), they were thinking of a sort of binary social system, in which you were either a noble or you were not, and it was inappropriate for people of one class to be judged by members of the other, either direction.
And I doubt they were negotiating on behalf of the peasant caught stealing a chicken. I think they were likely talking about a higher class and including the yeomanry-and-lower only by default, that they meant "peers" in a much broader sense.
But we have seen the courts acknowledge the concept of "peers" in a more specific sense, at least in terms of race, where it is not necessary to have a racially matched jury but you're not allowed to purposely un-match it.
The jury in today's strip may be a little narrowly matched, but, hey, it all evens out in the end. Consider this poor fellow, though you probably shouldn't consider him at work with the sound turned up:
Comments 1
Comments are closed.