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> You are (paradoxically and incredibly frustratingly) not allowed to use outside knowledge to inform your decision From what I understand (I'm not from US),
by balfirevic 9y ago
> You are (paradoxically and incredibly frustratingly) not allowed to use outside knowledge to inform your decision
From what I understand (I'm not from US), you are told this by the judge, but in fact you can (and are allowed by law) to use anything you want to form your decision.
- GavinMcG 9y agoYou're not allowed by law to disregard the jury instructions. It's a practical effect of keeping jury proceedings secret. People do it anyway, and it's highly unlikely that they'll be found out, but the problem is it's a double-edged sword: in this case, justice might have demanded it; on the other hand, a Klansman could use the same approach to get another member off the hook for an obvious murder conviction.
- pmarreck 9y agoYes, you are told this by the judge, but I wasn't aware at the time that you can still use whatever you want to form your decision. If I could do it again I would have hung the jury. Let's just say the system in place makes it veeerrryyy difficult to do so... which is of course a perverse incentive. I'm still kicking myself (this is years later) because normally I'm a person who sticks my neck out for my own principles, and that time I succumbed. I won't make the same mistake again.