Bad headline: “State Codifies by Statute Right of Jurors to Question Law,” would have been better.
The right of a jury to return a verdict in the face of both the law and the facts if they believe it will serve justice is a permanent feature of trial by jury. The fact that prosecutors and judges don’t like it, and try to hide the fact from jurors doesn’t change the fact. A conviction returned in the face of the law and the facts will be overturned on appeal. An acquittal the state just has to suffer with.
That is why the jury box is listed between the ballot box and the cartridge box in the old list of the boxes that defend liberty: soap, ballot, jury, cartridge.
But they do try to prevent us from exercising our rights & responsibilities. I’ve been on jury duty a few times in my town, & each time the Judge has asked, ‘will you decide this case based only on the facts presented & the law’ - no option for saying this is a bad law or badly applied.
“The old list of the boxes that defend liberty: soap, ballot, jury, cartridge.”
This is a statement that should be emblazoned on the mind of every American and particularly every American Juror.
Thank you for the reminder.