I mean that this was the intent of the Founding Fathers, now sadly in abeyance. We even have things like the espionage law which forbids a public interest defense. That's what juries are for, to protect the public interest.
I mean that this was the intent of the Founding Fathers, now sadly in abeyance. We even have things like the espionage law which forbids a public interest defense. That's what juries are for, to protect the public interest.
I completely agree, and PERSONALLY I'm a huge fan of Jury Nullification.
But that being said, even people with a passing familiarity with this issue know that the government hates jury nullification WITH A PASSION and actively discourages it (if they even bring it up) all the time.
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The 1895 decision in Sparf v. U.S.,[24] written by Justice John Marshall Harlan held that a trial judge has no responsibility to inform the jury of the right to nullify laws. It was a 5-4 decision. This decision, often cited, has led to a common practice by United States judges to penalize anyone who attempts to present legal argument to jurors and to declare a mistrial if such argument has been presented to them. In some states, jurors are likely to be struck from the panel during voir dire if they will not agree to accept as correct the rulings and instructions of the law as provided by the judge.[25]
I mean that this was the intent of the Founding Fathers, now sadly in abeyance. We even have things like the espionage law which forbids a public interest defense. That's what juries are for, to protect the public interest.
I completely agree, and PERSONALLY I'm a huge fan of Jury Nullification.
But that being said, even people with a passing familiarity with this issue know that the government hates jury nullification WITH A PASSION and actively discourages it (if they even bring it up) all the time.
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The 1895 decision in Sparf v. U.S.,[24] written by Justice John Marshall Harlan held that a trial judge has no responsibility to inform the jury of the right to nullify laws. It was a 5-4 decision. This decision, often cited, has led to a common practice by United States judges to penalize anyone who attempts to present legal argument to jurors and to declare a mistrial if such argument has been presented to them. In some states, jurors are likely to be struck from the panel during voir dire if they will not agree to accept as correct the rulings and instructions of the law as provided by the judge.[25]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jury_nullification_in_the_United_States