“This is not a hung jury based upon a lack of unanimity,” the note continued. “This is a jury that has ceased to be able to conduct respectful, open-minded, good-faith deliberations.”

I was on a criminal court jury last summer, deliberating a case that could have put someone in jail for a long time. I spent a week and a half sitting silently next to a randomly selected group of eleven other New Yorkers, and then moved into a room with them to discuss the defendent’s fate. I was singularly impressed with the seriousness and intelligence every person brought to the situation. Now, I ride the subway looking at strangers knowing what they are capable of, but also that I might have been lucky.