JURY DUTY - PART 2 - JURY NULLIFICATION
If it is a bad law, then it is no law at all.
In many countries around the world, we seem to find ourselves in the situation where many choices and decisions are made for us. Many laws are imposed upon us and there seems to be little that we can do about them. Either we can try to obey them, or disregard them and potentially face the consequences.
Personally, I cannot change everything. I cannot transform the world or a country. All I can do is choose how I live my life, and attempt to inspire others. If you saw the first post in this series, then you already know that I have recently been summoned for jury duty. While my "requirement" to appear may be debatable, I wanted to share some thoughts for anyone who actually does get selected for jury duty and appears, beginning with jury nullification.
JURY NULLIFICATION
While we can certainly believe that the American government has strayed from its roots, I think that there are some good things that the founding fathers tried to implement and make provision for when they were "creating" this country.
“I consider [trial by jury] as the only anchor, ever yet imagined by man, by which a government can be held to the principles of it’s constitution.” —Thomas Jefferson's letter to Thomas Paine (July 11, 1789)
Basically, the idea behind a trial by jury is that if someone is charged with a crime, they have the right to have their peers determine their guilt or innocence, rather than government officials or others. I'l share more about what "peers" originally meant next time. This was a safeguard to protect people from government tyranny, and part of what people used to understand about jury trials was a little gem known as "jury nullification."
Jury nullification occurs when a jury returns a verdict of "Not Guilty" despite its belief that the defendant is guilty of the violation charged. The jury in effect nullifies a law that it believes is either immoral or wrongly applied to the defendant whose fate that are charged with deciding. definition source
Jury nullification was originally an important part of the process. This is when the jury believes the defendant to be guilty, but does not agree with the law, so they find them not guilty. Ultimately, the government should not be able to oppress the citizens of that country with bad laws. If the people do not agree with the law, then they would not have to obey it. If they are charged with breaking the law, they could request a jury trial, and their like-minded peers who also disagreed with the law could find them "not guilty," no matter how guilty they actually were.
TO DEATH WITH BAD LAWS
If a law is unjust, a man is not only right to disobey it, he is obligated to do so. - Thomas Jefferson
It is in these unfortunate times so far removed from the founding of this nation that the people seem to be most uneducated and ignorant. Many are so caught up in the pleasures or worries of the moment that they have little concern beyond trying to pay the bills and relaxing in between the effort needed to do so.
Additionally, truths like the existence of jury nullification are rare to ever rear their head inside a court room, and the judges will almost certainly never mention the existence of such things. It is up to us, the people living in the country, to educate ourselves and others, so that we are at least aware of such options should we ever need to use them.
The court dates for this month have been cancelled, so I must wait until next month to see if I may actually get selected for a trial. I'll share a bit about what a "jury of peers" actually used to mean next time. Until then, know that if ever find myself on a jury where I believe an unreasonable or "bad" law is what the defendant is charged with breaking, I'll use jury nullification, no matter how guilty I believe the person to be.
What are your thoughts on jury nullification? Have you ever heard of it before? Would you ever consider finding someone guilty of breaking a "bad law" not guilty?
As always, I'm @papa-pepper and here's the proof:
proof-of-summons
Until next time…
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Absolutely I agree with it. This is something that should be taught in every school, every year you are in school. I had a teacher who taught government, and this was a point, and a call to action my teacher made sure we understood before graduating from high school.
Jury nullification is something that should be used all day every day in this country. If enough jurors understood the power they held in our laws, this over reach our generation is experiencing would become a futile effort by those seeking to oppress. This can be used in any court for nearly any case. If the courts were honest, they would instruct the jurors concerning this available (and most powerful decision) they could make.
I support this article and its' contents so much, I just had to resteem and promote it.
What? You promoted it too!?!?!
Thanks!
No problem. I did go look for it on the promoted list and I do not yet see it. I am not sure how it all works. Never done it before.
God bless ya' @papa-pepper!!!
I just got off duty. My county, odd shit going on. I was preparing to do a mass mailing, I can get the FIJA flyer in the hands of every voter in my county for less than a thousand bucks, and we were getting ready to do it when I was summoned. Decided to try to get on a jury first... We do 6 months at a time, I got off a couple weeks ago. We are getting ready to try again for our mass education of the entire county. It is very odd around here... wish we could sit across a table and chat but across the internet, let me just say the Yantis civil suit just got laid on the county. They are touchy, jumpy... I hope I can add to their discomfort real soon. I would LOVE to get the flyers mailed before the case gets in front of a jury.
Oh, and this is awesome... They cut the most OUTRAGEOUS deals to avoid jury trials here. I do not think a jury has actually been seated in this county in many, many years. One girl who blew the whistle on some local "pizza" issues was run out of town on a rail basically. Had to prove she was 300 miles away before they would drop the charges... seems a little, well, "fishy" but I am like that...
Anyway, the more I get to know you the more impressed I become.
LOL - I laughed, but I take you seriously. Thanks for the real comment too!
This is probably my favorite @papa-pepper post ever. People always throw laws in my face when I tell them that I simply abstain from giving consent to the system. My response is just like Jefferson's, if the law is wrong, then I am morally obligated to break it. Taxes that were never apportioned are unconstitutional, I never agreed to be a citizen or follow any laws, I was never given a choice, I was not educated about these laws by the people that enforce them, and I do not give consent to be ruled by a corporation masquerading as a government.
Well said, and thanks for the compliment.
I don’t believe I’ve heard of this before, or at least I don’t remember hearing of it before. So thank you for the information. I think if it were a bad law, I can think of a couple on the top of my head right now even, then I would consider them not guilty.
Some may say that you not only have the freedom to do so, but also the responsibility.
hahaha! hilarious.
Cuando el jurado hecha para atrás un veredicto, es porque se supone que tiene todos los argumentos necesarios para hacerlo, no importa si esto es una ley, eso es honestidad siempre y cuando el jurado esté siendo realmente honesto.
Por otra parte hoy día vivimos un desorden social, aún habiendo leyes que debemos cumplir, imagínese entonces que no las hubiera, esto fuera un caos total.
I fully support Jury Nullification! Oh and never ever carry a Constitution into a courthouse, they do not allow them there.... ;-)
Having Black's law dictionary is a must for any library.
LOL - sad but true?
Sad fact is it creates a hostile working environment for folks that expect the government to follow it...
If every voter in the US learned THIS, we could take our country back without firing a shot.
Here’s a link to a fairly recent article about a jury that convicted someone for sharing jury nullification pamphlets. Now there’s a jury that could have applied the jury nullification principle.
https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2017-06-02/jury-convicts-ex-pastor-who-shared-jury-nullification-fliers?context=amp
my thoughts are that if you're gonna have to do something that you don't want to do
The 13th Amendment to the Constitution declared that "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.