this post was submitted on 07 Dec 2023
281 points (97.6% liked)

Ask Lemmy

26890 readers
1828 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions

Please don't post about US Politics. If you need to do this, try [email protected]


Rules: (interactive)


1) Be nice and; have funDoxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them


2) All posts must end with a '?'This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?


3) No spamPlease do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.


4) NSFW is okay, within reasonJust remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either [email protected] or [email protected]. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].


5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email [email protected]. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.


Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.

Partnered Communities:

Tech Support

No Stupid Questions

You Should Know

Reddit

Jokes

Ask Ouija


Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu


founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

More or less.

I agree that the jury should certainly have the power of nullification. And I believe a jury should be made fully aware that they have such power.

However, they also need to be aware of how that power has been (mis)used in the past, and understand that nullification should be seen as an extraordinary act of civil disobedience on par with a full-fledged riot in protest of the law in question.

Nullification is not something to contemplate lightly. If you're going to be nullifying the law, you should be spending most of your deliberations writing a unanimous joint statement to the press, to be issued as soon as the jury is dismissed.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

Nullification is not something to contemplate lightly.

I think it's the other way around, not nullifying and instead condemning someone unless you're entirely convinced they're guilty and deserving, should not be taken lightly. Innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, if you're on a jury and not convinced even if everyone else is, don't compromise. Don't be peer pressured into ruining the life of someone potentially innocent. And, don't continue to ruin lives because of unjust laws.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

If you have a reasonable doubt as to their guilt, your not-guilty vote is not "nullification". It's simply "acquittal". Nullification does not come into play when there is a doubt as to the defendant's guilt.

To "nullify", you the juror must first be convinced beyond a doubt that the prosecutor's allegations are true. You must be convinced that the prosecutor did fulfill their burden of proof. You must be convinced that the defendant did, in fact, break the law that they are charged with breaking. You must be convinced that the defendant is guilty. Until you are completely convinced of their guilt, your "not-guilty" vote is just a finding of fact. A routine acquittal.

Only once their guilt of breaking the law is absolutely proven can you consider whether the law itself is just and proper. A law that was duly enacted by the duly elected legislators of the state or nation, in accordance with the constitutions of the state and the United States, and signed into law by the duly elected president or governor.

In declaring a law invalid, you are contradicting the will of the duly elected representatives of We The People. You are declaring that you know better than those legislators and executives what the law should be, and that nobody should ever be prosecuted under this law. That is your right and is well within your power as an individual and as a juror, but it is also a tremendously bold step. You are quite literally calling for a revolt against the legislators and executives who enacted this law.

Remember: juries commonly nullified anti-lynching laws. Legislators and executives agreed that white people should not have the power to arbitrarily execute black people with impunity. Many juries disagreed with that sentiment, and exonerated defendants they knew to have violated these laws. These juries decided that any law insinuating "black people are people" is unjust and invalid; that legislators and executives should not dare to challenge the fundamental supremacy of the white man.

When I say it is not a step to be taken lightly, I want you to remember that the most famous examples of nullification have been absolutely abhorrent miscarriages of justice, and the nullifying jurors in these cases are reviled by history.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 11 months ago

I said guilty and deserving. Also read the last sentence.

To convict someone of breaking a law you don't agree with would be "just following orders"