Juries

From part 9 of the Constitution of Athens:

"There are three points in the constitution of Solon which appear to be its most democratic features: first and most important, the prohibition of loans on the security of the debtor's person; secondly, the right of every person who so willed to claim redress on behalf of any one to whom wrong was being done; thirdly, the institution of the appeal to the jurycourts; and it is to this last, they say, that the masses have owed their strength most of all, since, when the democracy is master of the voting-power, it is master of the constitution."

Do we, citizens of the United States of America and the State of Utah, recognize that the right to trial by jury is the source of our strength?  Or have we perverted the right to jury trial, using it now as a weapon of retribution upon the poor, the homeless, and the addicted?  Have our values changed so that juries side with the State by default, rather than with the accused citizen?  These questions lead to troubling answers.