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New Hampshire Governor John Lynch signed HB 146 on June 18, 2012 - which reads: "...a Right of Accused. In all criminal proceedings the court shall permit the defense to inform the jury of its right to judge the facts and the application of the law in relation to the facts in controversy. Short, simple and to the point. Nullification advocate Tim Lynch of the Cato Institute thinks it may not be a game changer, but it's a step in the right direction

In 1832, the threat of nullification by States that opposed tariffs on imported goods came close to bringing about a civil war. Thirty years later as cries for the abolition of slavery reached a fever pitch the War Between the States would begin. Today, in the wake of the Supreme Court decision that found that the Affordable Health Care Act—Obamacare— is constitutional and thereby the law of the land. Republican Governors are lining up to say they will not obey it. Not only has President Obama and the Democrat Party imposed an enormously unpopular law on the nation, they have...

With all the buzz and anticipation surrounding the final rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court the past week, there has been little attention to an interesting legal development in New Hampshire: On June 18, Governor John Lynch (no relation) signed HB 146 into law and it becomes effective on January 1, 2013. HB 146 concerns “the right of a jury to judge the application of the law in relationship to the facts in controversy.” It’s popularly known as “the jury nullification bill.” In this post, I will try to explain what impact this new law may have in the New...

A few weeks ago, we had a lengthy conversation in Show-Me Daily’s comments about whether it would be constitutional for Missouri to nullify the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare). Then last week, the Heartlander published a story on the “nullification” issue wherein I was quoted reiterating my concerns with such proposals. (For context, my Heartlander remarks were drawn from an interview I gave the publication in early May, before Missouri’s legislative session ended.) Generally, I would let my prior remarks speak for themselves, but given the continuing interest in the topic, I think it is worthwhile to revisit the issue at...

On April 19, 2012 New York federal Judge Kimba Wood dismissed an indictment against 80-year old Julian P. Heicklen for alleged jury tampering in the case against him for handing out materials to members of the public regarding the right of jurors to apply the historic doctrine of jury nullification. Nullification is the right of jurors to come back with a verdict of not-guilty even if the jurors believe that the defendant in fact technically violated the law, but the jurors conclude that the law in question is an immoral or bad law or a reasonable law applied in a...

We are told that it is up to the Supreme Court to determine what laws are constitutional, but that is hardly in line with the limiting principles offered by the U.S. Constitution. That power the courts claim to have is called Judicial Review, and it is addressed nowhere in the Constitution. In fact, the federal courts seized that power for themselves through an opinion written by Justice John Marshall in the Marbury v. Madison case of 1803. Yes, that’s right, the courts gave that power to themselves. By deciding if laws are constitutional, and since the Supreme Court is a...

The measure has the backing of the Senate's top two leaders -- President Pro Tem Tommie Williams, R-Lyons, and Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers, R-Woodstock -- who have signed on as co-sponsors. "The federal government has excessively abused the authority of state and local governments for some time," Albers said, explaining why he sponsored the proposal. SR 889 has been assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The Obama administration on Monday rejected two states’ requests for waivers from the healthcare reform law. The decision could rekindle the controversy over the waiver process, as the two states that were turned down, Indiana and Louisiana, have Republican governors. GOP leaders at the state level have been extremely critical of the healthcare law and the requirements that it imposes on states. The Department of Health and Human Services said Indiana and Louisiana do not need an adjustment from the health law's medical loss ratio. That provision requires insurers to spend at least 80 percent of premiums on medical care...

Retired chemistry professor Julian Heicklen is facing imprisonment for advocating jury nullification to passersby, following an indictment by federal prosecutors last year, according to the New York Times. He stood on a plaza outside the United States Courthouse in Manhattan and handed out brochures on the subject. According to prosecutors, Heicklen’s “advocacy of jury nullification, directed as it is to jurors, would be both criminal and without Constitutional protections no matter where it occurred…. His speech is not protected by the First Amendment…. No legal system could long survive if it gave every individual the option of disregarding with impunity...

The near-showdown in Texas did not break any new ground in the nullification debate. The Texas House of Representatives passed a law that made the touching of genitals or breasts by TSA personnel illegal and punishable by fines and imprisonment. The federal government responded by citing the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, together with a threat to cancel all air travel to and from Texas if the law were passed by the Senate and signed by the governor. The Texas Senate backed down. The crisis was averted – for the moment. For most, attention was probably focused on the...

...Perennial presidential candidate, Ron Paul is the standard bearer of the Libertarian movement in this country and a Conservative Republican Congressman from Texas. His first official run for President occurred in 1988 on the Libertarian ticket. Since then, he ran again in 2008 as a Republican and is now officially seeking the Republican nomination in 2012. Even with this assumed notoriety, at this point, Paul is still not that well known (although that may be changing) and as such, is considered a ‘dark horse’ candidate. And, this is why I ask: Who is Ron Paul and really, what does he...

C.L. “Butch” Otter GOVERNOR NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT: Jon Hanian April 20, 2011 (208) 334-2100 11:028 GOVERNOR’S EXECUTIVE ORDER PROHIBITS STATE AGENCIES FROM IMPLEMENTING OBAMACARE (BOISE) – Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter issued an executive order today imposing a State prohibition on receiving federal funding for or otherwise implementing the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act – often called “Obamacare.” Executive Order 2011-03 uses portions of House Bill 298, a so-called “nullification bill” that was approved by the Legislature this year. The executive order directs State agencies not to establish new programs, promulgate rules or accept federal funding...

Washington - South African jurist Richard Goldstone said Tuesday that he did not plan to seek nullification of his highly critical U.N. report on Israel's 2008-2009 offensive in the Gaza Strip and asserted that claims to the contrary by Israeli Interior Minister Eli Yishai were false. (Snip) In an interview with The Associated Press, Goldstone said that Yishai had called him on Monday to thank him for an op-ed piece published Friday in The Washington Post in which the judge wrote that new information had come to light that made him rethink his central conclusions. Goldstone said, however, that he

The freshman Congressman representing Virginia’s 9th district Morgan H. Griffith has recently introduced H.J. Res 46, which is a constitutional amendment that will allow any federal law to be nullified by a two-thirds super-majority of state legislatures. The text of the bill is as follows: H.J.RES.46 -- Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to allow the several States to nullify a law or regulation of the United States. (Introduced in House - IH)

Backers want to turn state into place where officials can ignore U.S. laws HELENA, Mont. — With each new bill, newly elected lawmakers from the loose-knit, largely conservative anti-tax tea party coalition are offering Montanans a vision of the future. Their state would be a place where officials can ignore U.S. laws, force FBI agents to get a sheriff's OK before arresting anyone, ban abortions, limit sex education in schools and create armed citizen militias. It's the tea party world. But not everyone is buying their vision. Some residents, Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer and even some Republican lawmakers say the...

State nullification is the process by which states can reject and refuse to enforce unconstitutional federal laws. It has been a component of American law since the inception of the republic. In Thomas Jefferson's draft of the Kentucky Resolutions of 1798, he first introduced the word "nullification" into American politics. In his follow-up of the resolutions in 1799, Jefferson asserted that "nullification...is the rightful remedy" when the federal government overreaches its constitutional limitations. Likewise, at the Virginia ratifying convention of 1788, Virginians were told that they could be "exonerated" if the federal government attempted to impose "any supplementary condition" upon...

(Feb. 24, 2011) — As the battle for states’ rights heat up across the country, Montana and Arizona have leaped out into the lead by introducing the first broad-based State Nullification Reaffirmation Act designed to return the power to the people and their states and rein in federal government abuses of misinterpreted power. The Model Legislation was researched and created by the Constitutional Justice Division of Wyoming-based United States Patriots Union. This model legislation aims to reaffirm and reassert broad-based sovereign state’s rights under the Ninth and Tenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution by providing both the constitutional grounds and...

A quote from Jim Chmelki that will resonate in history for Idaho: “We stand on the threshold of history, when it’s time to stand up to the federal government,” said Jim Chmelik, a commissioner in north-central Idaho’s Idaho County. And in the words of T F Stern: The RINOs among us have sold their souls to the devil. These are men who really get it and comprehend what is at stake. Idaho Republican Senators stood on the precipice of greatness and jumped to their treacherous political deaths last week when they cast the deciding votes AGAINST nullification in the state...

* Since 2009, Mr. Heicklen has stood there and at courthouse entrances elsewhere and handed out pamphlets encouraging jurors to ignore the law if they disagree with it, and to render verdicts based on conscience. That concept, called jury nullification, is highly controversial, and courts are hostile to it. But federal prosecutors have now taken the unusual step of having Mr. Heicklen indicted on a charge that his distributing of such pamphlets at the courthouse entrance violates the law against jury tampering. He was arraigned on Friday in a somewhat contentious hearing before Judge Kimba M. Wood, who entered a...