Jury Nullification #

American jurors must become cognizant of their power:

Founding Fathers
- "It is not only his right but also his duty... to find the verdict according to his own best understanding, judgment, and conscience, though in direct opposition to the direction of the court." - John Adams, Second President of the United States
- "You [juries] have a right to take it upon yourselves to determine the law as well as the fact in controversy." - John Jay, First Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court
- "The jury has the Right to judge both the law and the facts." - Samuel Chase, Supreme Court Justice
Case Law
- The jury has an "unreviewable and irreversible power ... to acquit in disregard of the instructions on the law given by the trial judge. The pages of history shine upon instances of the jury's exercise of its prerogative to disregard uncontradicted evidence and instructions of the judge. Most often commended are the 18th century acquittal of Peter Zenger of seditious libel, on the plea of Andrew Hamilton, and the 19th century acquittals in prosecutions under the fugitive slave law." - U.S. vs Dougherty, 473 F 2d 1113, 1139 (1972)
- "If the jury feels that the law under which the defendant is accused, is unjust, or that exigent circumstances justified the actions of the accused, or for any reason which appeals to their logic of passion, the jury has the power to acquit, and the courts must abide by that decision." - U.S. vs Moylan, 417 F 2d 1002, 1006 (1969)
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/misc | Nov 27, 2006