Jury nullification?
juror nullification
I predict we'll start seeing more of this with drug cases.
This week's Time magazine published a manifesto by the screenwriters for HBO's The Wire imploring jurors to take this stand.
I was the Foreman in a trial against a drunk driving white man. We had only two minorities in the jury room, both female. Early in the deliberation, it became obvious to me that both women were out to throw the case because of their distrust of the police. Regardless of the evidence, they focused on the testimony of the police officer, who unfortunately didn’t do his paperwork properly, but was otherwise credible. The defendant on the other hand was evasive and childish at best.
Rather than allow myself to be confrontational with them, I gave them the floor for more time than most, allowed them to air their irrelevant grievances, many referring to treatment of their family members by the justice system. Once they got their complaints off their chests, I delicately steered them back to the facts of the case. They voted to convict, and showed an amazing amount of common sense once the layers of anger, resentment and distrust had been peeled away.
I received a lot of pats on the back from other jurors, some of whom in private told me they wanted to scream in the face of the women.
As sick as it makes me, some adults need to be treated like kids, and given their own platform for a moment. Otherwise they will remain defiant to the end. I have no doubt that had I allowed confrontation to happen in the jury room, there would have been a mistrial.
Judo comes to mind.