Your worst nightmare: twelve jurors stand between you and a miscarriage of justice, and none of them have read this book. Few doubt that America's judicial system is one of the fairest, but we all agree it has problems. Sometimes it must enforce unjust laws, or administer laws in ways that seem inherently unfair. In criminal cases, each participant has his or her proper role: the government prosecutes, the lawyer for the accused defends, the judge referees, and the jury renders a decision. But few realize the extraordinary power juries have to take control of court proceedings gone wrong, to undo miscarriages of justice, and help preserve the liberties we hold so dear.

Judicial history student and veteran juror Godfrey D. Lehman has compiled 12 cases from England and the U.S. in which jurors have taken it upon themselves, as a matter of conscience, to nullify or overturn horrific laws that endangered our freedoms. This is a wake-up call and a must read for historians, lawyers, judges, and, of course, all prospective jurors.