Put a disparate group of 12 people together in a small room. Assume they don’t have much in common, and then expect them to agree on a person’s fate or a business’ future. That could be asking a lot. But that’s the foundation of the jury system in the U.S.

The 1957 film "Twelve Angry Men" included one juror working, not necessarily to convince his fellow jurors that they were wrong, but rather that pre-judging — especially in a murder case — didn’t make sense and wasn’t fair.

That may have been the glory days of the jury system. Now there’s concern among some in the legal profession about the so-called "vanishing jury."

Social psychologist Dr. Drury Sherrod has worked on jury selection for decades and is author of the new book "The Jury Crisis: What’s Wrong with Jury Trials and How We Can Save Them."

Dr. Sherrod joined The Show to talk about it.

More Stories From KJZZ

• Why One Researcher Says Some Defendants Are Not Judged By A Jury Of Their Peers
• Once Deemed Incompetent To Stand Trial, Can You Be 'Restored' To Competency?