Daily Herald opinion: Legal lessons ahead: Understanding the American justice system a key part of our democracy

Two high-profile trials began Monday in the suburbs, both springing from crimes that made national headlines and rocked their communities.

At the Lake County courthouse in Waukegan, a Highwood man went on trial facing 21 counts of first-degree murder and dozens of other charges related to the July 4, 2022, mass shooting at a Highland Park parade that killed seven and injured nearly 50 others.

Meanwhile, miles away at the Will County courthouse in Joliet, a Plainfield Township landlord stands accused of killing 6-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi and severely injuring the boy’s mother, Hanan Shaheen, in an attack that authorities said was motivated by the victims' Palestinian ethnicity and Muslim faith.

In the Highland Park case, Lake County Judge Victoria Rossetti admonished prospective jurors to “keep an open mind, a mind that is free of any misconceptions” and “resist jumping to conclusions.”

Those jury instructions serve as an important reminder that defendants in this country are considered innocent until proven guilty.

Those more accustomed to seeing justice play out on TV, perhaps in one of hundreds of “Law & Order” episodes, are used to speedy trials, fast-paced testimony, defendants taking the stand and quick verdicts. The reality is far messier.

The road to a verdict is often a long one, filled with motions and status hearings and delays and sometimes a shuffling of attorneys. None of it works without the people involved in the various phases of an investigation: the police officers who pursue leads and interview witnesses, the lab techs who analyze evidence, the court clerks who toil behind the scenes, the judge who presides and the attorneys who devote countless hours to prosecuting or defending the accused.

And finally, there are the jurors, average folks who are asked to give weeks of their lives — or months as in the recent corruption trial of former Illinois House speaker Michael Madigan — in service of a fair trial and responsible judgment. In the Highland Park trial, 18 will be asked to do so, 12 as jurors and six as alternates.

Critics, notably including President Donald Trump, have said and done much in recent years to call into question the legitimacy and the authority of the justice system. It's important to remember that the system we will be witnessing in these high-profile cases has been designed to protect the rights of the accused and to assure that jurors have all the information they need — and only the information they need — to make an informed judgment. Attacks on the system in other cases make it all the more vital that we understand the role of the courts, whether on the federal level or in our county courthouses.

In fact, four of the 10 the amendments that make up our nation’s Bill of Rights pertain to the rights of the accused. And each time a verdict is reached, by judge or by jury, that makes a statement to society at large, one that should not be taken lightly.

The justice system is imperfect, we must acknowledge, and the process, filled at times with gut-wrenching testimony, can be brutal for those reliving the darkest moments of their lives.

But it is an important process — even if it’s not quite as tidy as a “Law & Order” rerun.