Like other D.C. residents, I have read and heard disturbing stories over the past few years that raise questions about the ability of D.C. juries to render verdicts based on the evidence. The most troubling tales suggest that race has become a wild card, leading to hung juries and acquittals even where the evidence appeared strong. So I was particularly interested in jury dynamics when I was selected a juror in a D.C. Superior Court trial this past June.

My neighbor had told me about her jury service on an armed robbery case, in which overwhelming evidence led to bitter deliberations along racial lines and eventually a hung jury. But my own experience turned out to be much more harmonious with a happier ending-for everyone but the defendant.

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