Attridge v. Cencorp Division of Dover Technologies International, Inc.

IRVING R. KAUFMAN, Circuit Judge:

The American jury system, Alexis De Tocqueville observed, is “as direct and as extreme a consequence of the sovereignty *114of the people as universal suffrage.” Accordingly, the sanctity of the jury room is among the basic tenets of our system of justice. Inquiries into the thought processes underlying a verdict have long been viewed as dangerous intrusions into the deliberative process. They undermine the finality of verdicts and invite fraud and abuse. We thus prevent jurors from impeaching their verdict to guard the jury’s special place in our democratic…