And the sheriffs, thus appointed, held their offices only during the pleasure of the king, and were of course mere tools of the king; and their selection of jurors was really a selection by the king himself.
Spooner critiques the appointment of sheriffs as tools of the king, undermining jury selection.
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They cannot claim or expect that the whole people shall practise the folly of taking on trust their pretended superior knowledge, and of committing blindly into their hands all their own interests, liberties, and rights, to be disposed of…
The answer is, that they are as reliable for that purpose as are the majority; they are as much presumed to have associated, and are as likely to have associated, for that object, as are the majority; and they have as much interest in such…
All other laws, it is optional with each man to obey, or not, as he may choose.
In that case the trial is really a trial by the government, and not by the jury.