He knew all about the law and decided to commit the crime anyway. I am sure all the LEO’s, nannys and WO? freaks who hangout here on FR would heartily agree...Here is a sample, from a thread on a Voir Dire Jury Selection:
"Judge McGroarty asked every prospective juror to enter the box "And will you promise to obey any instructions in the law I may give you, even should you disagree with one or more of them?"
(One poster's response)
"I think he's overstating the intent of the judge's question. What I think the judge is asking is "If I instruct you to disregard this witnesses' testimony, or instruct you not to discuss the case outside this courtroom or instruct you not to read or watch any news coverage of this case, will you be able to follow my instructions?"
" Judges believe that most of their decisions are based on the laws handed down by USOC or their state Supreme Court or an appeals court. IOW, that is "the law". When the judge makes these instructions, it is to insure a fair trial instead of a mistrial or a case overturned on appeal."
"I don't think the judge was asking them to rip up their legal rights and blindly follow the judge's every belief."
"Besides, if one is asked to sit on a jury, it is to determine whether the facts of the case match the law, not to decide if the law itself is fair or correct. I can believe prostitution should be legal but, while it is illegal, decide that a prostitute broke the law engaging in prostitution."
"I may disagree with some gun laws but, if someone is held in violation of that law, I can still agree that the defendant violated the law, which is generally what the jury is being asked to decide."
"If the author wants to *change* the laws, he should run for office."
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I guess Mr. Li's mistake was not running for Central Committee office. With a prospective juror pool like this, we may as well be ruled by a Central Committee, too.
Cordially,
So I take it you agree with my original post and are in fact a proponent of government law overriding human rights.
Besides, if one is asked to sit on a jury, it is to determine whether the facts of the case match the law, not to decide if the law itself is fair or correct.
What do you say of Jury Nullification?
Jury Rights
and
Jury Nullification 
Amendment VI
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.
LINKS
FIJA : The Fully Informed Jury Association
The Jury Rights Project
History of Jury Nullification
Juror's Handbook
The Citizen's Rulebook
Jury Nullification and the Rule of Law
Jury Nullification : The Top Secret Consititutional Right
Try the Law
Jury Nullification
Jury Nullification - What the Hell is it?
An Essay on the Trial by Jury (1852)
SoapBox! Fully Informed Jury Page
CRFC - Jury Nullification
MEDIA
In Jury Rooms, A Form of Civil Protest Grows - Washington Post 
What lawyers and judges won't tell you about juries, Progressive Review (1990)
LAURA KRIHO CASE
Voir Dire : A French Term for Jury Stacking - Mountain Media
Juror Rights are Dealt a Blow - Boulder Weekly
Jury Power & "Drug Peace! - Amer. Anti-prohibition League
The Jury on Trial - Media Bypass, Dec 1996
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The Words of the Founding Fathers
Jurors should acquit, even against the judge's instruction...
if exercising their judgement with discretion and honesty
they have a clear conviction the charge of the court is wrong.
-- Alexander Hamilton, 1804 It is not only the juror's right, but his duty to find the verdict
according to his own best understanding, judgement and conscience,
though in direct opposition to the instruction of the court.
--John Adams, 1771 I consider trial by jury as the only anchor yet imagined by man
by which a government can be held to the principles of its constitution.
-- Thomas Jefferson, 1789 It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made
by men of their choice, if the laws are so voluminous that they
cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood;
if they... undergo such incessant changes that no man who knows
what the law is today can guess what it will be tomorrow
-- James Madison
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| Last Modified - Tue, May 14, 2002 |
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