[Peace-discuss] Jury Nullification

[Ron Szoke]

Wayne:  I hope you're not so naive as to think that jury nullification will, in 
practice, always or usually result in verdicts that tend in the direction of values 
or norms that you support.  John has cited the case of local juries that refused 
to convict the murderers of civil rights workers in the south, c. 1965.  

Suppose that a jury does not convict a Minneapolis policeman who has 
assaulted, beaten or otherwise abused a dissident demonstrator at the RNC in 
2008, citing local values of "law & order" in asserting that the demonstrators 
had it coming, deserved what they got, had only themselves to blame, etc.  

Compare the acquittals of the gang of policemen who mercilessly beat Rodney 
King in L.A., as recorded on videotape.  

Are you saying there are no universal norms or values that apply in such cases?   
How far does your localism go?  Is there, in your mind, anything to prevent the 
persecution of local minorities?  Do juries ever get it wrong?

--  Ron