I Think Now Is A Good Time For Us All To Review The Principle Of Jury Nullification.

I think now is a good time for us all to review the principle of Jury Nullification.

Jury Nullification is when a jury finds a defendant Not Guilty even though they (perhaps secretly) believe them to be guilty.

In the United States, this has come up primarily in the case of 'escaped slave laws'. Good people are not willing to send formerly enslaved people back to their captors.

Governments hate this sort of behavior. But it's hard to stop. How have they tried?

1. They keep it secret. Jurors are not informed of this possibility. Activists who talk to jurors in front of courthouses have been arrested.

2. Jury Selection. Anyone who brings up nullification in jury selection gets removed. All jurors musts agree to "accept as correct the rulings and instructions of the law as provided by the judge." But they can't stop you from changing your mind.

3. Declare a Mistrial. If the defense or anyone else mentions nullification, they can scrub the whole thing and try again with a fresh jury. They will also find excuses to strike individual jurors if they need to.

4. They Flat Out Lie to You. Quoting Wikipedia here:

In 2017, a jury was instructed: "You cannot substitute your sense of justice, whatever that means, for your duty to follow the law, whether you agree with it or not. It is not for you to determine whether the law is just or whether the law is unjust. That cannot be your task. There is no such thing as valid jury nullification. You would violate your oath and the law if you willfully brought a verdict contrary to the law given to you in this case." The Ninth Circuit upheld the first three sentences of the jury's instruction and overruled the remainder but deemed that instruction a harmless error and affirmed the conviction.[67]

So expect scary people to tell you that you are breaking the law if don't give the verdict they want you to give.

But you don't have to do what they tell you to. If you find yourself on a jury you can come to whatever conclusions your conscience demands.

Maybe that bag of weed looks like oregano to you. Maybe that gun looks like a prop. Maybe the cop or the prosecutor seems shifty. Perhaps the defendant just has an honest face.

You can always find a reasonable doubt. Fuck you I won't do what you tell me to.