CHARLOTTE, NC -- Some high profile murder cases, and the jury verdicts, have led some to wonder if proving a case beyond a reasonable doubt is still possible. Trials, like Casey Anthony's, are shown on TV, and now some believe the case should be presented to the jury just like what you'd see in a TV crime show.

"That's not real life," said former Union County district attorney John Snyder. "Real life is grit, boots on the ground and trying to find the evidence."  At the end of the trial, the evidence doesn't clearly show who is guilty. Sometimes, it's circumstantial evidence that juries, according to Snyder, should draw inferences of guilt.

But thanks to TV crime shows like "Bones" that solve a case with clear and certain evidence within an hour, Snyder worries that will lead to the death of common sense in juries.  "You're seeing juries more willing to sort of listen to these nuance, non-sensical arguments, then apply the facts to the law, which is their jobs [and] they are looking beyond that." 

However, Brad Smith, a former Mecklenburg County assistant district attorney who now works as a criminal defense lawyer in Charlotte, sees juries differently. "Every single jury trial I've tried, and I've tried a lot, I can see jurors want to get it right, and it's a painstaking process."

Smith thinks TV shows and media coverage of court cases actually lead to prosecutors being careless, presenting cases with a certain mindset.  "'But trust us, the right person that we're bringing charges against is the right person and trust us we got it right, even though we're not going to necessarily prove it to you,' and that is a dangerous thing."

Snyder defends the work prosecutors do. "[District attorneys] are working as hard as they can to put the bad guys in jail."

The legal concept of trial by jury originated long before America was founded. It was written in the Magna Carta, an English charter, originally issued in the year 1215.  When people say, "the jury got it right, or the jury got it wrong," they're looking at it from their perspective.

But if you want justice, some say justice is what happens inside the courtroom.  "The reason we're seeking justice is we're letting 12 people that are unbiased, that are impartial decide on a person's fate," said Smith.

But as we saw in the Casey Anthony case, and locally in the Michael Mead murder trial, there's disappointment when the result is a not guilty verdict.  

Most recently, jurors in the Anthony trial have commented publicly their decision weighed heavily in their minds, and now they're having to protect their identity because of it.

Juror #11 from that trial appeared on FOX News Channel in the prime-time program,  "On the Record with Greta Van Susteren," but had to keep his face hidden. "It just was a very difficult process for a lot of people to go through and the emotions that people were expressing was just heart wrenching." 

Keep in mind, for every case that goes to trial, 100 are pleaded out, because the evidence points to the person being guilty. And when evidence is presented in a trial, "beyond reasonable doubt" in North Carolina means "entirely convinced, fully satisfied."