I read a rather long post about it a couple years ago, but forget some of it. IIRC it’s kinda like stating you reserve the right to rule however you want no matter the evidence. Gonna look it up…
Discussion
Ah, guess I had it slightly wrong.
“Jury nullification takes place when jurors acquit a defendant who is factually guilty because they disagree with the law as written. For example, during Prohibition, juries who disagreed with alcohol control laws often acquitted defendants who had been caught red handed smuggling alcohol.”
Jury nullification is fun because there is no statute or law enabling it. It arises at the intersection of two critical freedoms: jurors cannot be punished for their decision and criminal defendants cannot be tried twice for the same crime. It's literally jurors gaming the rules that enable a free society to selectively ignore unjust laws. Hacking the justice system.
This is why legal professionals get antsy if you even mention the magic words. They don't like it and they can't stop it. They will excuse you from jury duty if you indicate that you know how this stuff works. Knowledge is power.
Jury nullification is a double edged sword, though. It can be used to equal effect in ignoring just laws. This happened in the Jim Crow era to acquit people for racially motivated murders. If you find yourself on a jury in a criminal case of dubious merit do the former thing. Don't do the latter thing.
Governments serve the people. If the government is doing a bad job the people need to bring them to heel. Jury nullification is one tool in the toolbox.
Thanks for the details. Very cool. Will have to test out the magic words someday if I get the chance
Well you can try to use it to get out of jury duty but that might backfire. It's generally not advisable to piss off a judge.
The real gangsta move is to get on a jury and use your knowledge and charisma to sway the rest of the jurors into delivering a just ruling instead of a compliant ruling.
But that's a once in a lifetime opportunity. It's like learning CPR. Best case scenario you never need to use it but in a less ideal scenario it could save a life.
This.
Jurors need to be compensated more for their time and hardship.
I used to get called regularly but have never been selected.
It would be an honor to serve and to represent my community.
As citizens, we have few opportunities to see that justice is served on our behalf, and this is not to be taken lightly.
