Jury duty is a wonderful thing

St Dude - I have to disagree with your assertion that "(y)ours is the best in the world". I assume you are referring specifically to your jury system rather than the wider legal system.

The jury system here is merely a money making machine for attorneys and municipalities. The principle of a jury trial is that the defendant is tried by a jury of his/her peers not by 12 people deemed to be the most likely to vote in a particular direction as determined by voire dire. If you have a couple of million to throw at a great attorney then good for you. If you're a regular Joe accused of something heinous and saddled with a public defender vs a gung ho DA all I can say is good luck. The odds are already against you and the chances the PD's office are going to do much research into the jury pool are, I imagine, slim at best.

In England 14 people are selected for duty at each trial. It is random and is truly a jury of your peers (12 regular plus 2 alternates). The attorneys involved have absolutely no say in the matter. Being excused from jury duty is almost unheard of.