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Judges talk about it all the time, usually in less direct language, when they give the jury their instructions. The solution is: judges talk about it, but can't
by cgriswald 6y ago
Judges talk about it all the time, usually in less direct language, when they give the jury their instructions. The solution is: judges talk about it, but can't really stop a jury from doing it.
I don't think it is accurate to define it as 'mob rule.' Generally, in mob rule, the mob decides who is guilty and punishes them arbitrarily. In jury nullification, the mob decides who is technically guilty but unjustly punished (because the law is bad, because the punishment is too severed, etc..)
I won't lie to a judge or to anyone in court. But I won't ever convict someone if the death penalty is on the line. I expect to be excused, but if not... That isn't 'mob rule.' That's a power granted to me as a juror by the system. Presidents and Congress have grasped far more power than that without explicitly (and sometimes without even implicitly) being granted that power.
- JumpCrisscross 6y ago> In jury nullification, the mob decides who is technically guilty but unjustly punished (because the law is bad, because the punishment is too severed, etc.. Jury nullification is a jury acting on its own accord, without respect to the law. Overruling unjust punishment is the archetype. The Northern jury nullifying Fugitive Slave Act convictions, for instance. The flip side of that coin is Southern juries nullifying lynching convictions. One can make a value judgement on that not being jury nullification, but it's the same mechanism.
- cgriswald 6y agoI remain unconvinced. It is the law that gives juries this power. Can it be used for what you or I consider bad purposes? Sure. But so can any other power granted by the law. It is generally accepted that powers, both explicit and implicit can be used by the government. This includes elected officials and unelected bureaucrats. I see no reason not to extend the same to jurors.
- JumpCrisscross 6y ago> It is the law that gives juries this power. Can it be used for what you or I consider bad purposes? The law grants this power to juries under the premise that they behave objectively. If jury nullification became commonplace, I would expect we'd see calls to join the rest of the world in abolishing popular juries. I think that would be a net loss.