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matters, or things that are very important to each and
every one of you, and it was a sacrifice to be here. We
recognize that. We appreciate that. We will try not to
inconvenience you any more than is necessary. But it is
important that you realize that it is Monday morning
across all of America today and that in every
jurisdiction in this nation people like you were summoned
to the courthouses in the big cities and the small towns
to sit in a courtroom to talk to a judge like me. And
this is one of the unique things about our system of
justice. We are unique in the world about the way we
resolve disputes.

You, like all of these other citizens, are
going to be asked questions by the Court, by each of the
sides, so that there can be an opinion developed on your
ability to fair and impartial in a case like this.
Because that is the way that we decide disputes in
America. Juries of the peers, the parties are impaneled
to listen to the evidence and make these determinations.
We are unique in the world in this regard.

So your involvement in this process is
vital. If you didn’t come here today, if people you all
didn’t come to the courthouses as they did today the
judicial branch of government couldn’t function, because
it is an important ingredient in what we do. So we