• FunkyStuff [he/him]@hexbear.net
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    94
    ·
    6 days ago

    Every time jury nullification is used for based reasons, we get a little bit closer to people casting aside civility politics and understanding how power really operates. Uncritical support to the actionists, and those jurors will sleep well knowing they allowed heroes to go free.

        • edge [he/him]@hexbear.net
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          34
          ·
          edit-2
          6 days ago

          How would you even punish jurors for that? Someone else (the judge I guess) would have to decide that their decision was “wrong”, and at that point why even have jurors?

          • SeekTheDeletion [none/use name]@hexbear.net
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            24
            ·
            6 days ago

            As long as the juror doesn’t mention they are doing nullification they can get away with it. They just have to play dumb and keep repeating truisms over and over about how they aren’t convinced by the evidence

      • LanyrdSkynrd [comrade/them, any]@hexbear.net
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        32
        ·
        edit-2
        6 days ago

        They have a stronger version than the US because lawyers can argue for it to the jury. In the US they aren’t allowed to do it, and most states have model jury instructions that tell them they are not allowed to ignore the law because they think it unjust.

        • SeekTheDeletion [none/use name]@hexbear.net
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          26
          ·
          6 days ago

          Not only can the defense not mention it, nobody can. It will get you thrown off the jury instantly and the entire thing declared a mistrial, redone without you.

          There was one guy who kept protesting outside courthouses to tell jurors about jury nullification and he had been harassed and arrested dozens of times.

      • Awoo [she/her]@hexbear.net
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        34
        ·
        6 days ago

        For a much longer time period it was actually because the state was just releasing members. They did not want to prosecute and open up weapons companies to the “discovery” phase of court trials.

    • freagle
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      16
      ·
      6 days ago

      It’s the judges job to review the arguments for congruence with law. In a contrived example, if you go to court for a speeding ticket and argue ignorance of the speed limit, the judge’s job is stop that shit from consuming court time because it’s not the job of the jury to determine whether ignorance is a valid defense. By the rules, it isn’t.

    • Maturin [any]@hexbear.net
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      15
      ·
      6 days ago

      slight quibble: they advocated for the jury to nullify the law, not to nullify the jury (but you are right that it is shocking the judge let them do this)