Law is a pinnacle of human society. The phrase 'Be you ever so high the law is above you' inspires us all to believe that before it all are treated equally. But in the imposing wood panelled courts, in front of the beady eyes of wig decked judge, delivering justice tempered with mercy, our vision twists and falls prey to the mind. For Charles Dickens his story mixes deliberations of the jury with a supernatural varnish. Bram Stoker conjures up life in a house previously owned by a distinctly malevolent judge. For John Galsworthy the pursuit is rather gentler but still unsettling. A juryman must help decide whether an attempted suicide is punished...

Perhaps in our lives we all become both judge and juror.