I can understand why someone wouldn't want to testify: Some folks don't present well. If you looked and sounded like Tony Soprano, you might not want to talk to the jury.
I've been called a few times, and actually served twice. I just answer the voir dire questions honestly, and don't try to get on the jury or get out of it. I'm a former Army officer (and have arrested people in that capacity), have an engineering degree, and have relatives in law enforcement. I'm supposed to be one of those the lawyers don't want, but the do pick me on occasion.
If I'm picked, I try to be the kind of juror I'd want if I was accused OR if I was a victim. You know, pay attention, remember the instructions, and be reasonable. Yeah, and keep that pesky 5th amendment stuff in mind.
The first case was pretty minor. The guy was stopped for running a red light, then the cop noticed the lack of a registration sticker. The sticker was our case. The prosecution was pretty straightforward (Cop testimony, no current registration on the books, etc.), but there was no defense. The guy asked one question, about how long the cop had been on the force. I guess the guy was hoping that the cop wouldn't show up, or he had planned some "registration stickers are based on unconstitutional tax laws after Texas was illegally annexed" or some such that the judge had talked him out of. Guilty.
The other one was a domestic violence charge. I wouldn't have wanted either wife or hubby as a neighbor, but ... He said, she said. She lied on the stand, changed her story, and exaggerated. Didn't even match her story with her family witnesses. On the other hand, the guy seemed pretty honest, even when it didn't make him look particularly good. Nothing from outside observers contradicted his testimony. Best evidence: She set up a situation to get knocked (or fall) down and then called the cops to blame him. It only took two polls to get to not guilty.
