Saturday, August 6, 2011

Would you ever enact the right of jury nullification?

While most states have laws that forbid an attorney from telling the jury that they can acquit for any reason they choose it is in fact your right to weigh the moral righteousness of a law before rendering a verdict. Our founding fathers thought a 12 person temporary jury of citizens was the last and best form of control on the government. That is why jurors cannot be punished for their verdict, and why someone who has been acquitted cannot be retried. However judges will tell you to weigh only the facts because they do not like the idea of a jury contemplating the laws themselves. Jury nullification was a major contributor to the end of prohibition in america with some state having as high as 40% of alcohol cases thrown out by juries that refused to convict. Would you ever consider simply refusing to convict someone that is obviously guilty simply because you disagreed with the law?

No comments:

Post a Comment