Real Jurors · Real Cases · Real Rights
A nonpartisan campaign about the power of the jury and the right to a fair trial.
Your Verdict Counts is a nonpartisan campaign about the power of the jury and the right to a fair trial. The jury is the most direct form of democratic power in America. When you sit in a jury box, you hold authority that no judge, prosecutor, or elected official can override.
Yet most Americans have never been told the full scope of their rights as jurors, rights that the Founders considered essential to liberty itself. For centuries, juries have served as the people’s final check on government overreach. They ended prosecutions under the Fugitive Slave Act. They refused to enforce Prohibition.
Today, 95% of cases end in plea deals and mandatory minimum sentences keep judges from tailoring punishment to individual defendants. The jury’s role as a safeguard has never been more important or misunderstood.
The System at a Glance
Featured Story: Paul St. Louis
“I helped send a man to prison for 40 years. I had no idea.”
— Paul St. Louis, Fairfax, VA Juror
Paul served on a jury that convicted Frederick Turner of drug dealing. He later discovered that Frederick received a mandatory 40-year sentence — and died in prison. The judge called the sentence “excessive” and “wrong,” but the legislature had left him no choice.
Paul did have a choice. He just didn’t know it.
What They Don’t Want You to Know
Three things jurors should know — and almost no one talks about.
Your Right to Judge the Law
Jurors can judge whether the law itself is just, not only whether the defendant broke it. Courts won’t tell you this.
Learn moreThe Power to Say No
You can vote to acquit even when the evidence proves guilt, if the punishment or prosecution is unjust.
Learn moreWhen Juries Changed History
Juries refused to enforce the Fugitive Slave Act and helped end Prohibition. This power still exists today.
Learn moreWhy This Matters
Jury duty isn’t an inconvenience. It’s the most powerful civic role you’ll ever hold.
Real Power
Unlike voting, where your voice is one of millions, in a jury room every single voice matters. Every conscience counts.
Real Stakes
The decisions jurors make can change lives. Sometimes they’ve even changed laws, from ending Prohibition to protecting people who escaped slavery.
Real Choice
Jurors have more rights than most people realize. Rights that judges and prosecutors often prefer you don’t know about.
Documentary Coming Soon
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From the Founders
The architects of the Constitution believed the jury was the people’s ultimate safeguard.
“I consider trial by jury as the only anchor ever yet imagined by man, by which a government can be held to the principles of its constitution.”
Your Verdict Counts
Learn your rights before you serve. One informed juror can change the course of justice.