The third time it was a civil case with only 8 jurors. The plaintiff was a black woman who had been fired from her job for incompetence. She was suing for back pay and hefty punitive damages. The employer wisely has as their lawyer a very articulate black lawyer. It only took us 45 minutes to decide for the company. At least one of the jurors was black, maybe more, but we reached a consensus quickly.
I have been on juries twice. In both instances, I was surprised at how a group of ordinary people could collectively arrive at a sound decision. If done properly, the jury system works reasonably well, most of the time.