Jurors' Handbook- (stuff freepers should know)

Fully Informed Jury Association ^ | 12-11-01 | FIJA

[Texasforever]

Jury nullification is the refusal to convict

So, IOW the OJ jury decided that a law against murder was "unconstitutional". I think you need to do a bit of self education before you opine on this subject.

[Demidog]

So, IOW the OJ jury decided that a law against murder was "unconstitutional".

It is unclear why they refused to convict. You are making a leap in logic that isn't warranted by my statements. Obviously, juries sometimes refuse to convict because they believe that the defendent is innocent. But they have the proper right to refuse to convict for whatever reason they see fit. And the constitutionality of the law is one of those reasons.

[Texasforever]

And the constitutionality of the law is one of those reasons.

Once again, do some research on Jury Nullification. In that instance there is NO question of guilt or innocence of breaking the law in question. Jury Nullification is ONLY concerned with the constitutional basis for the law , based on the jury’s subjective definition. IOW, it makes NO difference if the trial evidence proves the defendant broke the law, the law should not have been in place from the get go.

[backhoe]

Appreciate it, and will add a link to that seemingly-eternally-running DUBOB series....

Jury nullification, while subject to abuse, is the one final thing standing in the way of malicious prosecution, bad Judges, and general corruption of our legal system- I don't ever want to see it abrogated.

[Demidog]

I am fully aware of what Jury nullification is. It is a refusal to convict on the basis that the law is immoral.

[BADROTOFINGER]

Yeah, I have argued this with a moron lib friend of mine and he swore up and down if you voted against the grain on the grounds that the law was wrong, you would go to jail. Never mind the fact that a person doesnt have to justify their vote to anyone, not even the judge, he was still convinced that a person would go to jail. He is simply lost, believes everything he sees on TV, you know the drill.

Great post tho, everyone should know this stuff...JFK

[WIMom]

Thanks for the ping, and a very good post. I would like to serve on a jury, but highly doubt I will ever be selected.

[Aunt Polgara]

You can bump me any time, honey! :-) Thanks for the ping.

[Cincinatus]

Maybe I would get past voire dire. I'd love the chance to sit in on a fed case and ruin some prosecutor's day! I guess the freepers who are "law and order, do everything the government tells you"-types won't like that.

Considering that you've just revealed yourself as a brainless ideologue who would pre-judge a case before hearing even one fact, I guess not.

[tet68]

Bump

[muir_redwoods]

We must pay attention to the words. They are Judges' Instructions not orders. Free people are free to think and act accordingly so long as they do not violate the law. There is no law covering the basis for jurors decisions.

As a side note, I have been called for Jury duty 5 or 6 times. Last time I was called I printed out 12 of Fija's brochures, stuck them prominently into my shirt pocket, and was processed out of the pool in about 45 minutes, possibly a record here in Connecticut.

[B4Ranch]

Big BUMP

[Aunt Polgara]

Not exactly jury nullification, but I had a very interesting stint on a jury once. Two hotheads got into a fistfight at a gas station. The one who ended up on the short end of the deal was suing the gas station owner and the gasoline company for a gazillion dollars. I was amazed that the "conservatives" on the panel wanted to give him the store, literally, while the liberals thought he deserved what he got. If I hadn't been on the jury, I'm sure he would have gotten a big settlement. As jurors, we do have more power than we think.

[Aunt Polgara]

Personally, I wouldn't lie to get on a jury. Nor would I volunteer information that would exclude me.

Exactly. As a juror, I'm a housewife, just the kind defense lawyers like. :-) Sometimes I even carry my needlework.

OTOH, I suppose if one wants to get out of jury service, one could carry a copy of Grisham's The Runaway Jury :-)

[gnarledmaw]

If only more Americans understood jury duty and how badly the Voir Dire process is abused then we might see some real change.

[gnarledmaw]

You both should get a copy of...

It discusses a number of things and part talks about jury nullification, Voir Dire, and specific instances of how responsible jurists wind up in jail for angering the judge by not following his commands.

[gnarledmaw]

Voir Dire French term for jury stacking

More on Kriho and some on the Thomas case can be found next to the article Rebels in the Jury Box.

[woollyone]

I wasn't amiliar with the Kriho case. Very interesting. Thanks for posting it!

[woollyone]

'scuse me...meant to say; "...wasn't familiar..."

[Ol' Dan Tucker]

I am fully aware of what Jury nullification is. It is a refusal to convict on the basis that the law is immoral.

If I may offer a clarification on what you write.

It is a refusal to convict on the basis that a law, or the application of a law is immoral.

IMO, this is why the OJ jury refused to convict him. They'd become convinced by his defense team that the LAPD had railroaded him and had planted evidence so as to make him appear to be guilty of murder.

The law against murder is moral, but in that case, the jury became convinced that the application of it was immoral.

dan