judges don't want you or anybody else to know about.
The concept is most commonly known as the "Fully Informed Jury” or
“Jury Nullification”.
If
a juror accepts as the law that which the judge states then that juror
has accepted the exersize of absolute authority of a government employee
and has surrendered a power and right that once was the citizen's
safegaurd of liberty.
George Bankroft -- History of the Constitution
"In
criminal cases juries remained the judges of both law and fact
for approximately fifty years after the Revolution. However, the
judges in America, just as in England after the Revolution of 1688,
gradually asserted themselves increasingly through their
instructions on the law. We recognize, as appellants urge, the
undisputed power of the jury to acquit, even if its verdict is contrary
to the law as given by the judge and contrary to the evidence." U.S. v Moylan, 417 F.2d 1002,1006 (1969)1
for approximately fifty years after the Revolution. However, the
judges in America, just as in England after the Revolution of 1688,
gradually asserted themselves increasingly through their
instructions on the law. We recognize, as appellants urge, the
undisputed power of the jury to acquit, even if its verdict is contrary
to the law as given by the judge and contrary to the evidence." U.S. v Moylan, 417 F.2d 1002,1006 (1969)1
The fact is that, in complete opposition to what most cops and judges will
tell you, the jury is the highest and final legal authority in America. 12
people can, no matter what the facts, evidence and/or instructions from the
judge, acquit any defendant according to their conscience. No on can
challenge this decision and jurors cannot be punished in any way for
acquitting.
In
a nutshell: ”You
are NOT obligated to enforce a bad law! You do
NOT have to send
people to jail who you don't think deserve to go
there, regardless of
what the law says!2”
If
it wasn't for jury nullification, slavery would still be legal. So
would
burning witches. Prohibition would still be in force and you
could be fined for
driving on Sunday.
In
this great country of ours both houses of congress have to vote on
and
pass legislation. Then, if the president signs it, it becomes the
law of the
land.
The
police and courts enforce the law.
If
someone thinks that the new law violates the constitution, our
Supreme
Court will review it and either decide that it is ok, or they
may strike down
part or all of it.
Theoretically,
that's it. If you violate a law, you're punished with fines, jail
or
death.
Sometimes
though, a bad law will make it through all those check points
and
still be law. When that happens, there is still one more place where
a
law can be struck down. The Jury.
“William
Penn may have thought he had settled the matter. Arrested in 1670
for
preaching Quakerism, Penn was brought to trial. Despite Penn's
admitting the charge, four of the 12 jurors voted to acquit.The
judge sent the
four to jail "without meat, drink, fire and
tobacco" for failing to find Penn
guilty. On appeal, however,
the jurors' action was upheld and the right of
juries to judge both
the law and the facts -- to nullify the law if it chose --
became
part of British constitutional law.3”
Watch
this 3 minute video from Maui
County Citizens for Democracy
talking
about your rights and duties as a juror.
“Jury acquittal of a defendant who is technically guilty, but who does not
deserve punishment, is called "jury nullification." In the
American legal
system, the jury's power to nullify is unquestionable.
The District of Columbia
Court of Appeals -- the second highest court
in the United States -- explains
that the jury has an "unreviewable
and irreversible power...to acquit in
disregard of the instruction on
the law given by the trial judge..." U.S.
v.
Dougherty, 473 F.2d 1139 (1972)4
Serving
on a jury is seen by many (including
my wife, quite recently)
as a
nuisance and a burden. Some people will try everything they can
think of to
avoid serving and fulfilling their patriotic obligation.
Recently,
I heard a line in a TV drama [Law
and Order, I think] with
a
defense attorney saying “Do
you really want to leave your future in the hands
of 12 people too
stupid to get out of jury duty?”.
Serving
on a jury should be seen as an honor. Without juries, we have no
system of justice. Any tyrant could subject us to oppressive and
unjust laws
and we would be powerless to fight them. Jury duty is
absolutely as
important as voting. Those two actions are what set us
apart as a free
country and are without a doubt, the most important
and admirable things
we can do as Americans.
Please.
If you are called to serve on a jury, do it. Serve with pride. Give
it
your best. Help keep America great.
At least that's my
opinion. What's yours?
See also:
Fully-Informed
Juries
Have a
conspiracy you'd like me to research? Got a question about
crypto? Post a comment HERE and I'll do my best to post the answer.
crypto? Post a comment HERE and I'll do my best to post the answer.
No comments:
Post a Comment