The Lycoming County Commissioners designated the first week of June as Jury Appreciation Week. This is not exactly earth-shattering news as hardly a week goes by that there is not something or another being appreciated, but this one is a bit different. Commissioner Mirabito noted at that June 1st meeting that as much as Americans emphasize their rights, they often forget that being tried by a jury of one’s peers is also a constitutional right.

Unlike the individual rights that were added as amendments after the constitution was completed, such as a free press, free speech, free practice of religion, the right to bear arms, etc., the right to a trial jury by one’s peers was in the original constitution. It is found in Article III, Section 2, and surprisingly, it was one feature that both the Federalist and Anti-Federalists actually agreed upon. Alexander Hamilton himself noted in The Federalist No. 83 that “the friends and adversaries of the plan of the (constitutional) convention if they agree in nothing else, occurs at least in the value they set upon the trial by jury.”

It is also a unique right in that if “we the people” do not serve on these juries, they would not exist. And here is the rub. Too many folks, when they receive a jury summons from the Sheriff’s office in the mail, begin to imagine a major illness coming on. This should not be the attitude. It is not a wasted day, but instead is a great opportunity to contribute and learn about the American judicial system.

It took a French nobleman in the early 19th century to point that out to Americans. Alexis de Tocqueville originally came to the newly formed United States of America in 1831 to do research on the unique idea of using prisons to rehabilitate criminals rather than simply incarcerate them. Seeking to make these prisoners “penitent” for the sake of reducing recidivism – hence they were housed in a “penitentiary” – was unlike any institution in Europe.

Tocqueville decided there was much more to learn about this very unusual new country. After a two-year excursion visiting almost all of the 24 states at that time, he wrote a book of his observations in 1835 entitled “Democracy in America.” Many political scientists believe it is the most insightful book on American democracy that has ever been written.

Tocqueville was especially fascinated with the American jury system. He stated that it acted as a “free school for the public” as it educated citizens on self-government and the rule of law. He felt that this connection to the true spirit of the justice system made American citizens unique from those in any other country in the world.

Jury duty is an awesome responsibility. Voting and tax revenue serve as a collective force for democracy, but a single citizen juror can exert a powerful effect on the administration of justice. Thankfully, the majority of citizens in Lycoming County take the responsibility of jury duty quite seriously. Unlike other neighboring counties that have had at times to send sheriff deputies to pick up truant jurors simply to be able to hold a trial, Lycoming County has generally held to a high compliance percentage.

In fact, we even have those who have gone the extra mile, literally. At that June 1st meeting, Commissioner Scott Metzger related a story told to him by former Judge Thomas Raup, president judge for Lycoming County for some twenty years. In the late 1980s, the courts had adjourned early on Friday afternoon due to a snowstorm. Judge Raup was going home and saw an elderly man standing in the hallway and asked the gentleman if he needed any help. The man replied, “Well, I’m trying to figure out how to get home.” Judge Raup replied, “Yes, it is time; I have seen you here all week on jury duty.” And the man responded, “That’s right, I have walked here from Jersey Shore every day and walk back at the end of the day because it’s my civic responsibility.”

Admiring the man’s commitment, Judge Raup told the man, “Allow me the honor of taking you home in this snowstorm.” Judge Raup never forgot that man and shared that story as an example of a citizen who truly understood his ‘civic responsibility.’ Seen through the right lens, jury duty is more than a duty or obligation or burden. Rather, it is an important constitutional right symbolizing an act of freedom and justice that we all should cherish.