[Peace-discuss] on Jury Nullification

[John W.]

On Mon, Jun 9, 2008 at 11:43 PM, Jenifer Cartwright <jencart13 at yahoo.com>
wrote:

> I guess the trick would be for the defense lawyer to educate the jury AFTER
> they're selected and the trial is underway.
>
> This won't be allowed by the judge.



> If members of the jury let on before they're selected that they're open to
> nullification, the prosecuting attorney won't accept them. Looks like The
> System wins again :-(
>
> Wow, Arlo Guthrie got old! Guess *Alice's Restaurant* came out quite
> awhile ago, huh. He still sings and plays purty durn good.
>  --Jenifer
>
> *ewj at pigs.ag* wrote:
>
> Randall,
> Thanks for referencing the Wikipaedia --- Note the following ---
>
> "I consider trial by jury as the only anchor yet imagined by man by which a
> government can be held to the principles of its constitution."
> -- Thomas Jefferson.
>
> During Prohibition, juries often nullified alcohol control laws, possibly
> as often as 60% of the time. This resistance is considered to have
> contributed to the adoption of the Twenty-first amendment repealing the
> Eighteenth amendment which established Prohibition.
>
> In the 21st century, many discussions of jury nullification center around
> drug laws that some consider unjust either in principle or because they are
> seen to discriminate against certain groups.
>
> A jury nullification advocacy group estimates that 3-4% of all jury trials
> involve nullification, and a recent rise in hung juries is seen by some as
> being indirect evidence that juries have begun to consider the validity or
> fairness of the laws themselves.
>
> *
> The facts are that JURORS HAVE THE RIGHT TO ASSESS THE APPLICABILITY OF THE
> LAW, and
> further that the JUDICIAL SYSTEM DOES NOT WANT THE PEOPLE TO HAVE THIS
> INFORMATION,
> because it would interfere with the power and the profits of the
> Legal-Judicial-Penal Industrial Complex,
> which has become a very big business indeed.
>
> There is absolutely no doubt that impoverished people and minorities do not
> receive the same treatment by the under the law as do rich people, and
> elites, and whites. This is a terrible injustice in our nation and in our
> communities.
>
> If enough good people learn about Jury Nullification and the fact that so
> many American citizens have been imprisoned for non-violent offenses, there
> could be a dramatic reduction in prosecutions and eventual overturning of
> unjust laws and a reduction in unfair law enforcement.
>
> These film clips from the 1990's are from an old TV show where Jury
> Nullification is discussed.
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pA4GKG__B-s
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRdse8zBzyI
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbw8rF_hA9I
>
> And some entertainment - Arlo Guthrie
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8DtpdXZi0M
>
>
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