I'm not a fan of jury trials. I think it encourages both prosecution and defense to sentimentalize their cases in order to sway the jury's mood. Especially when you require an unanimous verdict to convict someone.

In Germany (or at least certain states there) the judges' chamber is usually supplemented with civilians, if there are 3 professionals then there have to be two laymen. I don't know how this works out in practice but it's an interesting experiment.