I have served on a jury and it is a powerful experience. It also made me want to stay far far away from any trouble with the law ("the wheels of justice grind slow, but they grind exceedingly fine").
That said, the judges in this article come across as juvenile and thoughtless, being concerned about how boring work is without trials. How about the poor defendant who takes the plea deal even if they feel they are innocent, just because the stakes are too high? We hear a one mention of such a case, but the rest of the focus is on the poor judges and clerks who are bored or not paid enough ("my kids didn't go to camp"!).
Huh? The judges quoted in the article seem to be concerned about the impact on the fairness of the justice system.
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> “It’s a loss,” Judge Kaplan said, “because when one thinks of the American system of justice, one thinks of justice being administered by juries of our peers. And to the extent that there’s a decline in criminal jury trials, that is happening less frequently.”
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> “It’s hugely disappointing,” said Judge Jed S. Rakoff, a 20-year veteran of the Manhattan federal bench. “A trial is the one place where the system really gets tested. Everything else is done behind closed doors.”
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> Judge Gleeson wrote that because most pleas are negotiated before a prosecutor prepares a case for trial, the “thin presentation” of evidence needed for indictment “is hardly ever subjected to closer scrutiny by prosecutors, defense counsel, judges or juries.” “The entire system loses an edge,” he added, “and I have no doubt that the quality of justice in our courthouses has suffered as a result.”
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The "my kids didn't go to camp" quote is from a stenographer and was probably chosen by the reporter just to add another angle to the story.
The first quote you've referenced doesn't make mention of the fairness of the justice system.
So, there were two quoted judges bemoaning its effects on the fairness of the justice system, two talking about how their jobs are boring without trials (the quotes included below), and four that do not clearly talk about either of those.
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> “We’d love to have more trials; most of us enjoy trials,” said Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein, who joined the bench in 1998.
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> In April, when Judge Shira A. Scheindlin resigned from the bench after more than two decades, she said the decrease in trials was one consideration for her departure. “Trials are way, way down,” she said. “The building’s quite dead.”
It also made me want to stay far far away from any trouble with the law
My jury experience taught me to not worry, the law will come to you, looking for trouble where none exists. "Not guilty, your honor."
The evidence was so poor, I later question whether the defendant was offered a deal, and he said "screw you, you know I didn't do it", and so it went to trial out of spite. Because after it was over, I felt like invoicing the prosecutor on behalf of taxpayers for wasting our money.
That said, the judges in this article come across as juvenile and thoughtless, being concerned about how boring work is without trials. How about the poor defendant who takes the plea deal even if they feel they are innocent, just because the stakes are too high? We hear a one mention of such a case, but the rest of the focus is on the poor judges and clerks who are bored or not paid enough ("my kids didn't go to camp"!).