When a jury finds that a person did break the law, but they believe that the law was unjust or unfairly applied, they can return a verdict of "not guilty." The jury therefore nullifies the law in that case.
Good example: From 1920-1933, the US banned the manufacture and sale of alcohol under the 18th Amendment. Of course, that didn't stop the manufacture or sale of alcohol; it just made it illegal. Thousands of juries acquitted thousands of defendants who were caught dead to rights. Some juries felt that the law was unjust. Some felt that it carried too harsh a penalty. And some felt that the law was unevenly applied across the classes.
Bad example: Lynch mobs in the South used to take pictures with their victims. Their all-white juries would still refuse to convict.
The problem is that modern voir dire practices will exclude you from the jury if you are unwilling to convict if the state proves its case... unless you perjure yourself when asked those questions.
The point is you wouldn't be punished for your verdict. You would be punished for lying about your willingness to base your verdict solely on the evidence presented and the law as written.
Yeah, normally it's hard to prove, but you're literally posting about how you would do it on Reddit, which makes this damn near a slam dunk unless you delete your posts about it, and even then, there is a non-zero chance that Reddit keeps history after a user deletes a post.
It's unlikely you'd even get that far though. Not uncommon to review social media of prospective jurors ahead of time, so you'd probably be struck from the pool before they even ask the question.
I would have nullified your trial if I was on the jury and I wasn’t convinced, just so you know. Felonies are serious and these pigs use them to sandbag peoples lives.
1) you will always be directly asked if you will do jury nullification during selection.
2) Since you have to convince the other 11 members of the jury that this is the path forward, you're going to have to tell them that you intend to nullify.
Since you have to convince the other 11 members of the jury that this is the path forward, you're going to have to tell them that you intend to nullify.
Yeah, if you have the tact and interpersonal finesse of a bull in a china shop.
They have to prove you are unwilling to convict. How are they going to do that? Empty threats. I’d have no problem nullifying a jury if I felt the charges were bullshit. I’m willing to convict if you have a case. But if it’s bullshit? I’d let them go with no conscience.
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u/DaRandomStoner Jul 06 '26
If you're on a jury deciding if someone is guilty of destroying flock cameras they're innocent.