A split 11th Cir. panel says a lower court acted appropriately by dismissing a juror who said the Holy Spirit had told him the defendant was not guilty. "A contrary holding would allow criminal defendants to be convicted based on a divine revelation." 
@fordm This turned into something of a rift over how much of a role God can play in jurors' deliberations.
@fordm Judge Pryor - who had been on President Trump's Supreme Court short list - dissented. He said the decision means some religious jurors must now "be stricken for cause if a discriminating lawyer elicits during voir dire that God communicates with them."
@fordm Pryor says the majority misunderstands divine revelations: They're not an external force, but rather "the operation of an internal thought process."
@fordm And he goes on to the nature of prayer, one common goal of which is "to attune the mind to receive God's internal guidance." This is deeply interesting, but I can't say I've ever many judicial opinions quite like it.
@fordm Pryor: "When a conscientious juror asks God in prayer to assist her and believes she has received his assistance, she has not taken instructions from an outside source. She has not performed the supernatural equivalent of a Google search."
@fordm This is a fascinating case and you can read it here: media.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/f…
