[marktwain]

"As a practical matter, I don't know how this is different from the beginning of a trial, when you tell the jurors you have to follow the law as I state it,"

You are exactly correct, Sandy. The above instruction is a lie. Jurors have always had the power to judge the law and possible sentences to assure that justice is done. It is a basic american and english law concept called jury nullification. Every lawyer will grudgingly admit that the jurors have the power, but most of them will argue that they should not.

[monkeyshine]

I believe it is a juror's right to judge both the law and the defendant.