Those who bring up O.J. as an indictment of the right of jury nullification fail to acknowledge that the case is a clear perversion of it. I seriously doubt anyone on the jury would publicly state that laws against murder are unjust. They may have reason to believe that prosecutorial misconduct has led to the accusation being lodged against an innocent man, but then, you've left the realm of jury nullification.
I strongly recommend that each of us take part when called up to serve on a jury. As citizens, it is a solemn duty, because it is our one chance to actually judge the law itself as well as the accused.
The OJ Jury is a great example of how Jury Nullification does work very well. What failed there was the jury selection process.
But say we are jury selected in the case of a man brought up on charges possibly because he was a member of currently extremely prosecuted religious group, where such trumps charges are in the time and place, common. Say a Coptic Christian in Cairo. It I’m a Copt on that jury in Cairo, I am NOT going to convict if there is even an wacky outside chance the Copt did not cut his wife’s head off.
A less inflammatory and REAL example would be that jury in south Jersey some months ago who were directed by the vile (now retired) Judge to consider only the facts presented to them in trial per the law as he spelled it out to them. The case was a man who was moving to north Jersey and had his guns in his trunk to move them to his new place — that is allowed under even the very strict New Jersey law.
He was stopped and his guns discovered by police, still it was a permissible action. But the police and prosecutors of that district for whatever reason — likely animosity towards citizen RKBA — arrested him and he went to trial on serious felony charges.
The Judge refused to allow testimony that the man was carrying the guns for the legal (in NJ) purpose of moving to a new place. The Jury was sympathetic to the man. Three times they came back to ask to clarify the law, or ask for other facts, they did ask if they could nullify. The Judge said that they must rule according to (evilly limited) facts heard in the court and the law as he had stated it — the Judge firm, even demanding and perhaps rude and abusive to the Jury in his demeanor. Clearly, imo, he was dominating them to force a particular verdict.
The Jury did abide the Judge’s direction. They found the defendant guilty. He went to jail.
THAT JURY NEEDED TO KNOW IT COULD NULLIFY.
What happened to that man was a perversion of Justice. Abuse!
It wasn’t by some OJ Jury, it was by a respected and long-serving Judge.
That’s WHY Justice needs Jury Nullification.