Anime as reason for dismissal from jury duty?

It's no problem if they don't hurt others, but some people do... like some may lie about themselves and say they're a reincarnation of a Japanese vampire princess or an idol or something, and some may believe that and get hurt. Or in some cases it can make their mental stability worse, and harm their relationships with loved ones and friends... Some will have that "I'm special, I can do anything and survive" mentality... Well, I think it's pretty rare for it to be that bad.

Hmmm yeah, that is certainly unhealthy and dangerous. I feel like we've gone a bit off topic :O Isn't the point of a jury to have different people with different views discuss and come together to decide whether someone is guilty or not. I hate to use religion as an example but as the US is a pretty religiously driven country, why would someone's views on life and death based on something like the bible be acceptable whereas someone who's views on life and death, being shaped by death note, are not acceptable? If you're just getting people with the same views to decide someone's fate, what's the point of having a jury?

That's a good point actually, because Death Note is really just saying "Kill the criminals", but a jury has no power to say what KIND of punishment is dished out, just whether the person is actually guilty or not... Maybe they were just too lazy or couldn't be bothered to look into it and let him off.

If someone is taking their association with anime and fantasy to those extremes they probably have a mental illness or a severe personality disorder. In which case, anime is merely a tool in the expression of that illness/disorder. If that's the case, they would likely still have the problem without anime. They would just find a different outlet. It's similar to how the guy who shot John Lennon connected with the book, "The Catcher in the Rye."