Jury nullification is the process whereby a jury in a criminal case nullifies a law by acquitting a defendant regardless of the weight of evidence against him or her. Widely, it is any rendering of a verdict by a trial jury which acquits a criminal defendant despite that defendant's violation of the letter of the law.
Strictly speaking, a jury verdict which rules contrary to the letter of the law pertains only to the particular case before it; however, if a pattern of identical verdicts develops in response to repeated attempts to prosecute a statutory offense, it can have the practical effect of invalidating statute. Jury nullification is thus a means for the public to express opposition to an unwanted legislative enactment.
The jury system was established because it was felt that a panel of citizens, drawn at random from the community, and serving for too short a time to be corrupted, would be more likely to render a just verdict, through judging both the evidence and the law, than officials who may be unduly influenced to follow established legal practice, especially when that practice has drifted from its constitutional origins.
"I consider trial by jury as the only anchor yet imagined by man by which a government can be held to the principles of its constitution."
—Thomas Jefferson
The jury has the right to judge both the law as well as the fact in controversy. ”
—John Jay, first Chief Justice of the United States
It is not only his right but also his duty… to find the verdict according to his own best understanding, judgment, and conscience, though in direct opposition to the direction of the court.
—The Works of John Adams
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So, if I am ever lucky enough to be on a jury you can bet a not guilty vote will be coming from me if the defendant has been charged with a victimless crime. No matter what the ex-lawyer judge instructs me to do. I hope you too will do the same if the "crime" shouldn't even be a crime in the first place.
I'm with you..
ReplyDeleteSounds like a plan...I've always wanted to be on a jury, but have never even been selected.
ReplyDeleteAlthough we sharks can get called for jury duty our fellow members of the bar don't typically want us empaneled because we're troublemakers...
ReplyDeleteI was in a jury pool for the murder of a child. I didn't make the final cut though. I think the defense let me go because I have two kids myself or maybe it was the prosecution because I didn't really like that attorney. I guess I'll never know.
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