Rutgers Trial Post-Verdict Breakdown
To many, the jury was given an impossible task. To Dubin, the very process of choosing a jury is fundamentally flawed. The fact that only the judge – and not the lawyers – can question prospective jurors makes the process shallow and rote. And it's all for expediency, he says.
"The wheels of justice, you always hear, they grind slowly. Why is there always such a rush to pick a jury?" Dubin asks. "It's like a contest. We want to have a jury by noon, we want to have a jury by Friday. … Why should this part of the judicial process be sped up when the rest of it takes so long?"
Few reporters cover jury selection, and fewer write about it. But it is a critical piece of due process, Dubin claims.
"What motivates my feelings about this case is how passionate I am about the erosion of the presumption of innocence in this country, and how dangerous that is," Dubin says. "You're not able to really probe, to the extent that is necessary, to determine whether or not this person can be fair and impartial, and actually uphold the presumption of innocence. That frightens me, and it should frighten everyone."
Watch Chris Cuomo's exclusive interview with Dharun Ravi on the full episode of "20/20"
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