if your standing in the dock, you might disagree.
What’s the alternative a computer based decision ? , or a single decision maker determining the rest of your life ?
I believe that some other European countries, such as the Netherlands, don't have juries. Instead all defendants are simply tried by a single magistrate/judge or a panel of judges.
I think France, Belgium, Austria and Italy do have juries, though.
AIUI Germany has a kind of compromise solution whereby defendants are tried by a professional judge and a panel of lay judges/magistrates (called "Schöffen" in German).
Clearly there are arguments for and against trial by jury:
FOR: It's fairer to be tried by one's fellow citizens than simply by a magistrate or judge who might be biased (and who might base their decision on your character rather than on the evidence).
It gives jurors a valuable insight into how the court system works.
AGAINST: It costs taxpayers more.
It uses up jurors' valuable time, and they often have to juggle it with work and family commitments.
I believe that it has been suggested that certain types of cases should use specialist juries who are more likely to understand the complex issues involved in the case, rather than ordinary randomly selected jurors (or at least that a certain number of jurors on such cases should be people with the necessary specialist knowledge).