3 ms·

Nullification is a check against the power of the state. Jury nullification was used all the time in the North to protect escaped slaves.

• tzs 16y ago
  Yes, but look at the South where it was hard to get a white jury to convict a white defendant for a crime against a black. That's nullification too.
  • dpatru 16y ago
    To repeat: jury nullification is a check on state power. It prevents the state from convicting. A lot of US criminal procedure law functions the same way: it prevents conviction. The presumption of innocence, the burden of proof, the right not to be unreasonably searched, the right to an attorney, the right to present and confront witnesses, etc, all can function to prevent the conviction of a guilty person. We accept this because we think that too much state power is worse than regular crime. If you want to be sure of convicting the guilty every time, you're going to have to accept the loss of many freedoms as well as the conviction of many innocent people.
  • isleyaardvark 16y ago
    Do you think forbidding jury nullification would've done anything to stop that? If jury nullification is outlawed only outlaws will nullify juries.