On The Importance Of Jury Trials... Sort Of

A famous author explains how important jury trials are. Or at least how important he imagines they might be.

Trial by jury is the palladium of our liberties. I do not know what a palladium is, having never seen a palladium, but it is a good thing no doubt at any rate.

— Mark Twain, offering a stirring tribute to the American legal system. This quote, among many others, appears in a new compilation of Twain’s commentary on lawyers and the law entitled Mark Twain v. Lawyers, Lawmakers, and Lawbreakers. Palladium is a rare metallic element with atomic number 46, but we’re guessing Twain was going for another definition.

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