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To: Sola Veritas

Did these people ever hear of the rule of jury nullification? It means that the jury is the final say on all matters. They cannot legally throw out a jury's ruling. A ruling can be overturned because of something that did or did not happen in the courtroom, new evidence, police procedures,etc., but it cannot legally be thrown out because of how the jury arrived at its verdict.


26 posted on 03/28/2005 12:49:48 PM PST by SALChamps03
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To: SALChamps03
it cannot legally be thrown out because of how the jury arrived at its verdict.

You've never heard of jury tampering? You can throw out a verdict if it is demonstrated that the jury was bribed, or attempted to arrive at legal instead of factual conclusions, or that they based their decision on evidence they had obtained outside the courtroom.

37 posted on 03/28/2005 12:54:16 PM PST by SedVictaCatoni (<><)
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To: SALChamps03
Did these people ever hear of the rule of jury nullification? It means that the jury is the final say on all matters. They cannot legally throw out a jury's ruling

Sure they can. There are various legal safeguards in place to prevent a jury decision from trampling on the rights of the defendant. For example, a judge can determine that a finding of guilty by the jury so went against the evidence as to be unreasonable. If a jury finds you not guilty, that's it. However, if a jury finds you guilty that isn't the end of the matter.

A ruling can be overturned because of something that did or did not happen in the courtroom, new evidence, police procedures,etc., but it cannot legally be thrown out because of how the jury arrived at its verdict.

If a jury finds someone guilty just because they're a minority, or a jury relies on outside evidence or sources for its decision, that decision can most certainly be overturned.

43 posted on 03/28/2005 12:55:59 PM PST by Modernman ("They're not people, they're hippies!"- Cartman)
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To: SALChamps03

"A ruling can be overturned because of something that did or did not happen in the courtroom, new evidence, police procedures,etc., but it cannot legally be thrown out because of how the jury arrived at its verdict.
"

Actually, you are incorrect. Jury misconduct can lead to the overturning of a verdict. This jury behaved stupidly. Under our system, only the applicable laws and the evidence presented in court may be used in deliberations.


74 posted on 03/28/2005 1:13:47 PM PST by MineralMan (godless atheist)
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