Jury should have power

George Hawkins (Readers' Forum, Dec. 30) suggests that judges should be replaced by farmers. This conflict of interest was foreseen by our founding fathers. The jury was to be the deciding power in the courts. Lawyers and judges have watered down the power of the jury for their benefit. When a judge usurps a jury, it is time for that judge to be replaced. Any lawyer who stacks the deck in the jury pool should be jailed. The problem is politicians like the system just as it is.

Mark Faux

Salt Lake City